Losing Ground
by LadyDracula
Summary: Chuckie is a senior in High School and is confronted by his dream girl. They begin to go out, and things start to heat up. But, life starts to close in on the young couple. Can they cope with all the curve balls that life will throw?
1. A Date for Chuckie

Losing Ground

Chapter 1

Chuckie Finster, a senior in high school, scribbled down the notes for the geometry test as the bell rang signaling the end of the class period. It was time for Chuckie's history class, which he had with his step-sister, Kimi, and all of his childhood friends, and he collected his books so he could make his way out of the classroom.

On the way to his locker, Chuckie was slammed into by the jocks. They laughed and cusses as they all called him, "Nerd!" Chuckie never got used to being tormented, even thought it was a daily occurrence. Chuckie slammed his fists into his locker. "This happens every day. When will they leave me alone," he asked exasperated.

Chuckie was grabbing his textbook and notebook for history class when the locker door next to his slammed shut. "Hey, Finster," a cool, feminine voice said.

Chuckie turned and saw Marina Lawson, also a senior, standing in front of him in all of her punk glory. Chuckie nearly dropped his books at the sight of Marina in her off-the-shoulder, fishnet sleeved shirt and rocking black pants with suspenders hanging from them. She wore a black choker with a gothic cross. Her curly hair was gelled so that it wasn't frizzy, and the back was pulled back into a ponytail.

"Marina." Chuckie breathed as he nervously brushed his shaggy hair out of his eyes.

"How about you come over to my house tomorrow?" Marina asked smiling seductively.

A group of Marina's friends were waiting for her next to the history doorway, and Chuckie's step-sister, Kimi, watched from inside the classroom. Kimi was shocked to see Marina talking to Chuckie. "What does she want," she asked herself. "She's not his type, so what favor does she want?"

Chuckie smiled uncontrollably. "I'd love to," then his smile faded, "But, I have to work tomorrow."

"Where?"

"Barnes and Noble." Chuckie said quietly.

Marina grinned and stepped up next to Chuckie. Her eyes were heavily etched in black eyeliner and eye shadow, but Chuckie found it sexy. His mouth went dry just at the sight of her, and he realized he was falling for her too hard too soon. Marina's pouty, lip glossed lips opened as she said, "How about I come visit you, then?"

Chuckie felt his face flush. "Sure."

Marina smiled. "Great. I'll be there at noon."

"I'll be on my break then."

"Rock on," she replied before heading back towards her friends.

Chuckie stood stunned for a moment as his head surged with thoughts about Marina. None of the thoughts were particularly school appropriate, but it was an uncontrollable reaction for a teenage boy. He snapped out of his daydream fairly quick and headed into history class before the tardy bell sounded through the halls.


	2. Catching a Ride Home

A/N: Sorry to have forgot this earlier. I do not create the Rugrats character. Klasky-Csupo did. I am simply using the characters. I have created Marina and the other unfamiliar high school students. Also, I have never watched an episode of Rugrats All Grown Up since the one many years ago when they first made the gang older and they all went to a concert. So, I'm sorry if I write anything that doesn't fit with how the story has gone. I was just inspired to take cartoon characters--ones that I used to love when I was a little girl--and romantically involve them. Reviews are always appreciated.

Chapter 2

For the rest of the day, Chuckie couldn't concentrate on the school work. He tried hard, but was only able to write down the work that was to be completed. His mind was on seeing Marina again, and all of his friends noticed. It was unlikely for Chuckie to be so distracted. Kimi caught him in the hallway after the dismissal bell and asked, "What's going on, Chuckie?"

"Nothing, Kimi, why?"

"You aren't acting normal today. Does it have something to do with Marina? I saw her talking to you."

Chuckie knew he was blushing, but he had to pretend he wasn't. "Nah, it's not her."

Kimi's eyebrows furrowed. "Chuckie, she's not any good. She's after something."

Chuckie sighed. "Look, she's not going to do anything, Kimi. She's just going to stop by while I'm at work tomorrow."

Kimi shook her head. "I still don't like it."

Chuckie gathered up his books and stuffed them into his backpack. He slung it over one shoulder and shut his locker door. Kimi did the same. "You're working right after school, right?"

"Yea." Chuckie said trying not to sound different from any other day, even if he was experiencing a day unlike the others.

Kimi nodded. "I'll catch a ride with Tommy or Phil," she told him.

Chuckie glanced at her. "Why not ride with Lil?"

"She's got to meet her boyfriend after school."

"Oh." Chuckie replied. "Who is she going with again?"

"Some guy from another high school." Kimi replied pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Chuckie began walking. "Well, I'll see you at home later, sis," he called out to her.

Kimi nodded and watched her brother walk off before she gave an angry sigh. She raced towards Tommy and Phil's lockers. She had to have a ride home, so she had to catch one of them before they high-tailed it out of that five-day-a-week-hell. She silently prayed that she hadn't lollygagged around talking to Chuckie for too long. But at the sight of Phil's skater clothes, she knew she hadn't missed them.

Tommy saw her before Phil because Phil had his back to Kimi, but he turned to see what Tommy was looking at. He saw Kimi running up, and fought the urge to watch her bounce as she ran. "Hey, Chick," he called out to her.

Kimi slowed her run to a stride as she neared the two childhood friends. "Hey, jack-off," she playfully shot back.

Tommy laughed and replied, "Ooh, burn," as he shoved Phil.

Phil pushed Tommy back and turned to Kimi. "Betcha need a ride cause brother has to work."

Kimi sighed. "Yea," she replied dully. "My car still won't run." Her car had lost a spark plug and wouldn't run correctly.

"There's still the offer for me to fix it." Phil said in an sing-song voice.

"No thanks, Phil, I'd like the car to stay in one piece." Kimi laughed.

Phil furrowed his eyebrows. "Hey, I fix my truck all the time."

"I didn't say you don't." Kimi replied.

Tommy cut into the conversation. "Hey, I hate to have to do this, but I've got to split. I'm meeting up with Rachel at the café." Rachel was Tommy's girlfriend of about a week.

Kimi sighed and looked up at Phil, who stared down at her with a smirk on his face. "What," she asked him.

Phil jerked his head to the right to get his bangs out of his eyes. His skater hair-cut always got in the way when he was trying to stare down someone. "Nothing; it just seems you have to ride with me, chick."

"Apparently."

"You don't sound thrilled." Phil said mocking being offended.

Kimi smiled; she couldn't help it. She adjusted her pale blue jacket so that her black tank top was covered. "Are you gonna help me or not, Phillip?"

Phil scrunched his face up at his full first name. "Only if you don't call me that again."

Kimi started to do it again just because he'd opposed of it, but she figured she wouldn't upset her only ride home. "All right," she told him.

Phil held his arm out for her to wrap her arms around, like ladies do to a gentleman, but Kimi just shook her head while smiling. "Come on, Deville, I really don't have all day."

"Ooh, what you have somewhere to go this Friday night?" Phil asked getting rather nosy.

Kimi sighed and shook her head. "Seems that I'm the only one who doesn't," she said glumly.

Phil gave a weak smile. "Well, not the only one."

"You don't have plans either?"

Phil shook his head. "Nope, I guess I'll just go home and jam on my guitar."

Kimi looked up at Phil. She had to admit that Phil was one of the better-looking guys in the senior class. She adored the messy, skater hair and his pale blue, nearly gray eyes. Of course, no one knew but her journal, but there was a sexual attraction there. His rock n' roll band tee-shirts and roughed-up jeans also made her heart flip-flop. Also, Phil's ability to rock out on guitar was a "doable" prospect. That, too, only her journal knew.

"Want to hang out at my house. Usually, I'm the only one there, unless Lil and that guy," Phil rolled his eyes, "show up."

Kimi shrugged and thought, 'What else do I have to do with my time?' "Sure," she told Phil. "But, I'll have to call home and let them know."

Phil pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. Kimi smiled and graciously accepted his phone to call her parents.


	3. Two Single Friends Hanging Out

Chapter 3

Chuckie couldn't help but think about Marina the whole time he was working, and he was surprised when he had gotten as much work done as he had. He kept thinking about how Marina had looked, and he realized that she was everything he wanted in a girl. She was sexy, seemingly nice, and popular in the goth and punk crowd. Chuckie hadn't one clue why Marina was even interested in meeting him. He offered nothing that anyone else could. Marina could take any guy she wanted, and Chuckie didn't get what she saw in him.

Chuckie stood in front of the large window looking out into the darkening sky, and he saw his reflection in the glass. He pushed his small-framed glasses up and sighed. 'I need to start wearing my contacts more.' He tilted his head and brushed his hand against the stubble on his chin. 'Maybe I should shave, too.'

Kimi had called her parents, and they had been okay with her staying at Phil's house for a few hours. She flopped down on the couch in the living room and said, "So, what are we going to do?"

Phil swiped the television change up off of the side table. "How about a movie?" He shook the changer a little bit as he spoke.

"What movie?"

Phil stepped closer and leaned down until his eyes met Kimi's. "Your choice," he told her.

"'_How to Deal_.'" Kimi replied. She really loved that movie.

Phil sighed. "Since you're the guest, we'll watch that one."

"Come on, Phil, it's a great film. Who believes in _love_," Kimi gave a disgusted expression, "anyway."

"Yea, and Mandy Moore's pretty damn hot." Phil replied as he flopped down sought "How to Deal" out on the many movie channels.

Kimi laughed. "Do what?"

"Well, not as hot as you, chick. But, Mandy's got the looks."

Kimi laughed. "Why do you call me chick?"

Phil shrugged. "I don't know because you're the only girl I've known practically my whole life, except Angelica. But, why bring that up?"

"Angelica is not as mean as she used to be as a kid." Kimi added.

"I know, but I don't need a special nickname for her. She will always be Angelica."

Kimi felt flattered that Phil had given her a nickname, but she quit conversations when Phil was finally able to track down _How to Deal_. He enjoyed seeing Kimi so happy over the movie, so he didn't mind he was watching a so-called "chick flick." Just being that close to Kimi was enough for him, even if he would never admit it to anyone. Phil would have given anything just to have the guts to reach over and take Kimi's hand in his own.

A few hours later, Lil and her boyfriend Dustin dropped in, and Phil sighed. Kimi glanced over at him, and he rolled his eyes. Kimi then moved her glance over to Lil and her boyfriend. Lil saw her and smiled. "Kimi! I haven't seen you around much lately, other than school."

"I know. It's a shame." Kimi replied.

Lil glanced over at her twin brother, who just appeared to ignore her. "Hey, Phil," she told him.

Phil halfway turned, forced a smile, and half-heartedly waved. Lil snorted angrily and ignored Phil. "So, how are you, Kimi? Do you have a guy yet?"

Phil glanced over at his sister and Kimi at the question because he was dying to know the answer. He knew that Kimi didn't have plans, but that didn't leave out the fact that she could be crushing for someone at school. Phil was clueless that Kimi had secretly been crushing over him.

"No." Kimi said, and Phil let out the breath he was holding. "But, I don't mind. I'll find someone eventually."

"Well, that's for sure. You're very pretty." Lil replied. "I'd like you to meet Dustin." She glanced over to Dustin. "Dustin, Lil. Lil, Dustin."

"Hey." Dustin replied with a wave of his muscular arm. Kimi noticed he had a nice tan and well managed hair to go along with his muscular body. Kimi had a feeling Lil was getting something more than dates out of the boy; his body was just designed for more.

"Hey." Kimi replied nervously.

Phil felt jealous to say the least. Kimi was melting in Dustin's presence, and he had never seen her act like that before. So to protect the slow progress he was making on winning Kimi over, Phil decided to butt into the conversation. "Kimi, what time did you need to be back?"

Kimi glanced down at her watch. "Oh, shoot, soon," she said. In reality, she had time but didn't want to stay there. She felt out of place there, and she wondered if Phil ever felt out of place or if he just was ignored.

Phil jumped up off of the couch quicker than the remote could turn off the television. "Then, we'd best go."

"Yes. Well, Dustin, it was nice meeting you. And Lil, it was good to see you again." Kimi replied before following Phil, who was quickly heading for the front door.

"We have to see you more." Lil told her.

"Of course." Phil shot back. "But, she has to get back before she gets grounded."

"I wasn't talking to you, Phillip!" Lil retorted.

"I don't give a damn, Lillian!" Phil replied before slamming the door shut.

Kimi let out a long sigh. "That was awkward," she said.

"Yea." Phil replied glumly.

Kimi walked over to Phil's truck and climbed into the passenger door. Phil climbed into the driver's seat. He pulled out his keys and brought the vehicle to life. Kimi glanced over to him. "Where's Dustin from?"

Phil glanced over at Kimi. His face was illuminated by the soft blue light of the radio. "He's from Rockburrow."

Kimi sat up straight and furrowed her eyebrows. "They're our biggest rival. We've lost many basketball tournaments to them."

"Where do you think Lil met him?" Phil replied.

Kimi felt a bit betrayed that her friend would date an enemy of their high school. "I can't believe it."

Kimi was quiet for a while before she turned and looked at Phil. "How serious is Lil with that guy?" The question was eating Kimi alive.

Phil glanced over at Kimi. "Serious enough for four months," he answered.

"No, I mean _how_ serious is she about him? Has she--"

"Fucked him?" Phil replied never taking his eyes off of the road.

Kimi nodded. "To put it vulgarly, yes."

Phil let out an angry sigh. "Yes, Lil screws that guy all the time since our parents have decided traveling is fun. Hell, all I ever hear is the sound of her mattress squeaking and the headboard thumping against my wall. It's sick.

Kimi didn't know what to say to that, but she had more problems waiting for her. She glanced up and saw an unfamiliar car in the driveway to her house. It wasn't long before she recognized the person in the car, though. "Oh my God, Phil, that's that girl! The girl that was talking to Chuckie today. What does she want? She couldn't wait to talk to him tomorrow?"

Phil set aside his anger to be sympathetic and caring for Kimi. "You want to go somewhere else, like the arcade. Just so we can both blow off some steam."

Kimi took a deep breath and glared at the red car in her driveway. "Yes," was all she said to Phil, and the truck sped right on by the driveway leaving Marina sitting there in her red car patiently waiting for Chuckie to get there.

A/N: Sorry about the foul language in this chapter. I don't like the "F" word, but guys use it a lot and it fit into the particular place in the conversation. It's probably the last time I use it, though. As always, I appreciate reviews and I'm glad that xXCocoPuffXxX enjoys my story so far.


	4. Attractions

A/N: In this chapter, there are two songs mentioned. A song by Smash Mouth and one by a group called Greenwheel. They were the first to sing the song "Breathe," even though you may have heard it performed by Melissa Etheridge. Their version came out a year or two before her cover of it. OH, and thanks once again to XxXCocoaPuffXxX for the great review. It really gives me inspiration to write. I hope you continue to like it!

Chapter 4

Chuckie saw a car sitting in the driveway to his house, and he pulled up slowly to see who it was. Not long after he pulled up, he noticed that it was Marina sitting in the car. Chuckie quickly pulled in beside the car, turned the truck off, and hopped out.

Marina was all ready out and standing besides Chuckie's dark blue truck. "Hey," she said to him in her coarse voice.

Chuckie blushed, but it was hard to tell in the dark. "Hey," he replied.

Marina put her hands in her front pockets, and her hair fell over her eyes. The loose lock of brunette hair drove Chuckie crazy, and he reached over and brushed the hair out of the view of Marina's beautiful eyes. She smiled at him, and he felt his mouth go dry.

"I thought you weren't going to come see me until tomorrow," he said to her.

Marina shifted her shoulders. "I didn't want to wait that long," she admitted.

Chuckie smiled but had a nagging feeling something was awry. "Is there any reason why you just took a shine to me this year. We've been at the same high school for four years, and you've never noticed me before."

Marina looked at him with no grin on her face. Her face was serious as she said, "I hadn't noticed how much you cared," she said. "I finally opened my eyes, forgot all the losers who know nothing about me, and saw you."

Chuckie sighed and looked at his shoes, but Marina lifted his head with her right hand. "I've seen the way you look at me during the classes we share," she told him. "There's something there, and I want to feel as good as those looks make me feel."

Chuckie wanted to know what it felt like to have Marina's attention after four years of longing for it. So without thinking, Chuckie leaned over and kissed Marina hard. She fell back against his truck and wrapped her arms around Chuckie's neck.

Kimi and Phil arrived at the jam-packed arcade and took a deep breath. Phil grabbed her hand and dragged her through the crowd towards the back rooms. "Do you have your license handy," he yelled over the crowd just so Kimi could hear him two feet away.

"Yea, why," she yelled back.

"You'll need it!"

The crowd thinned out next to a door with two men guarding the backrooms. Phil went to the left, and Kimi went to the right. "ID's please, you have to be at least seventeen to enter," both said in unison.

Phil pulled out his wallet and showed the man, and Kimi pulled her ID out of her pocket. She always carried it with her since she didn't like to leave it in her purse--which was in her backpack in Phil's truck. The man scanned the ID then let Kimi pass, and she found Phil was waiting for her. She caught up with him, and they headed for the air hockey board.

"Yo, Deville!" A voice shouted.

Phil turned and saw Kris Smith, a regular at the arcade and a senior from a rival school. "What do you want, Kris?" Phil asked.

"Last time you were here, we swore we'd battle it out on the stage." Kris said.

"Not today, Kris." Phil replied gesturing for Kimi to follow him.

Kris got in the way. "Just because you have a little girlfriend with you doesn't mean you can go back on the deal. I beat you, and you have to cut that mop you call hair."

Phil began to walk away, and Kris smirked. "If you forfeit, I'll shave your head here." Kris warned.

Phil stopped and turned to glare at Kris. He glanced to Kimi, who stepped out of the way. Phil strolled up to Kris and stared him in the eyes. "All right, name your song." Phil said.

Kris grinned. "You're going down, Deville," he stated then strutted towards the karaoke stage.

Kris was a "pretty boy" and a "prep." He wore polo shirts with khakis, and thought he was better than people like Phil, who dressed in the "punk" manner. He got up on stage with his fake blonde hair and preppy clothes. His little clique cheered for him, and the others just waited to hear him sing.

Kris started singing "Can't Get Enough of You Baby" by Smash Mouth. Phil sighed and rolled his eyes at the song; it had been played out, but the clique of Kris's friends seemed not to notice. Phil glanced to Kimi and saw her scrunch up her face. He laughed and looked back over at Kris. To Phil, it took the song forever to end.

Kris stepped off the stage with a smirk on his face. "Beat that," he whispered harshly.

"Gladly." Phil said under his breath.

Phil took the stage, and everyone's eyes were on him. All he cared about was that Kimi's eyes were locked on him and had a smile on her face. That gave him more of a reason to show Kris up. He grasped the microphone in his right hand and waited for the music to start. An acoustic guitar played, and Phil began to sing Greenwheel's "Breathe."

Phil's voice was coarse and sexy as he sang, "I played the fool today, and I can see us vanishing into the crowd. Longing for home again. Well home, is a feeling I've buried in you."

Kimi felt faint as she listened to Phil's voice; she'd never heard him sing before, but she was loving it. Kimi's journal was going to hear about a lot more things she felt and wanted to do with Phil later. His sparkling, pale blue eyes locked onto her and wouldn't leave. Kimi could feel her face growing hot, and she glanced down at her feet for a moment. Her body temperature was rising and made her jacket a nuisance.

Phil paced around the stage and sang to the audience, who were smiling. They liked him, and even Kris's bunch were smiling. Of course, they quit whenever Kris would turn around, but they still smiled.

The song ended, and Phil descended the stage. A vote was taken, and Phil won the contest by a landslide. Kris started cursing to the whole crowd and claimed that Phil had cheated, but no one paid attention to him. Phil didn't even noticed that Kris stormed out of the arcade.

"You did good." Kimi told him, smiling.

Phil smiled back. "Thanks."

There was a vibe of attraction that Kimi was giving off, and Phil really wanted to see how strong that vibe was. But, he was a gentleman and kept his lustful actions bottled up inside. 'Damn,' he thought, 'Being polite will kill me if Kimi stays this close to me.' Kimi was close, but she wanted to be close to Phil after the feelings his singing had stirred up inside her.

Phil's truck reached the Finster driveway, and Kimi kept turning the rag doll that had been a prize in the machines that have a claw and give a person thirty seconds to get the prizes. Phil had showed her how good he was at getting the prizes; he'd gotten the prize with ten seconds to spare, and it had impressed Kimi. He'd given her the prize just to flirt with her, but he didn't have any use for the toy. Although, Lil had kept most all of the prizes he'd gotten out of those kind of machines. But, it was more important to Phil to win Kimi over.

Before either of them could speak, Kimi saw Marina's car was still in the driveway. But what bothered her most was the sight of Chuckie making out with Marina against his truck. Kimi watched, horrified, as her brother's mouth searched Marina's mouth. Kimi opened her mouth to speak, but there were no words to express her anger.

Phil saw Chuckie lip-locked with Marina, and he touched Kimi's arm. "Hey, do you want me to take you somewhere else?"

Kimi shook her head and opened the door to Phil's truck. She stepped out and gave Phil one last look, which expressed everything that she couldn't say. Phil didn't fight her departure, and he watched Kimi shut the door and run past her brother and his girlfriend. Phil leaned back against his seat and let an aggravated sigh. "Thanks, Chuck, you screwed up all I worked for tonight," he said quietly.

Chuckie heard Kimi exit Phil's truck, and he pulled away from Marina. He watched his sister run into the house without even a glance towards him. He was a little relieved at that, but it disturbed him also. He knew Kimi had saw some of what had been going on, and he felt embarrassed.

"I'd better go." Marina said quietly.

Chuckie turned back to face Marina; his shaggy hair flopped about his face. He put his glasses back on and said, "You don't have to."

Marina squinted her eyes what looked in a painful manner before she glanced over to the front door where Kimi had just been. "Yea, I do."

Marina brushed her hand against Chuckie's unshaven chin, and smiled at him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." Chuckie agreed, and Marina headed for her car.

"Goodnight!" Chuckie called to her.

Marina opened her car door and looked over at Chuckie. "Goodnight," she answered before getting into her car.

Chuckie watched Marina's car come to life and back out of the driveway. Marina waved to him before she pulled out into the street. He let out a sigh as the taillights of Marina's red car disappeared.


	5. Love is in the Air

Chapter 5

Kimi was locked in her room and very angry. She'd been grounded for a week for coming in after her curfew. "Why didn't I drag Chuckie down with me," she screamed in anger. "He's outside swapping spit with some girl who doesn't really want him." Kimi growled angrily. "She's never gave him so much as a glance, so what is her game?"

Kimi flopped down in front of her computer and turned it on. She wasn't suppose to be online when she was grounded, but she wasn't going to listen. She had to get her mind off of Chuckie's foolish behavior with the Marina. Kimi just had a bad feeling about Marina and the past that came with her.

Kimi turned the computer speakers down as she logged onto the internet. She waited patiently for the connection to take place, or as patient as she could be in her anger. Her well kept, clean fingernails rapped upon the desk until the internet was up. Since she had DSL, Kimi could load pages quickly. She logged onto her messenger, and found she had no new e-mails.

She typed in the address to Phil's website, _Too Much Rock_, into the browser search bar and waited for it to take. Within a few seconds, the site was up and ready to be searched. Kimi was speechless, though, as she stared at the picture of Phil on the opening page. He was wearing fairly tight brown pants with a tight, long-sleeved, light gray shirt. He had a jean vest over the shirt, and it seemed to have once been a jean jacket. He wasn't facing the camera; his head was turned to the right and slightly leaned down. Phil's arms were at his side, and Kimi thought he looked very sexy. Kimi found herself having to tear her eyes away from the picture just to enter the website.

__

Sweat had beaded upon Kimi's forehead, and she had to wipe it away. She nervously glanced around her room because she felt like she was being watched. Keeping her feelings for Phil a secret were going to cause her to have a nervous breakdown yet. "What am I going to do about this? I can't tell him because what if he doesn't feel the same? I don't know if I can live with that kind of awkwardness."

The website background was adorned in black with words in red. A graphic was in the center of the page; it was a guitar with the cord wrapping around the navigation bar on the left. There were links to audio clips of songs Phil had wrote and performed, a biography about him, links to other websites, a web cam feature, and more pictures.

Kimi clicked on the audio link, and a page with a graphic--guitar, Coca-cola on the floor, and papers as a translucent element --and links to the audio clips were on the page. Kimi clicked on the first entitled "Love Her." As Kimi listened to the song and wished that it had been written about her. 'I wonder who he wrote it for,' Kimi wondered. She sighed. "His voice is amazing, and he's really playing the acoustic guitar," she said absentmindedly.

After listening to all of the audio tracks, Kimi was in awe of Phil and what he was capable of. She moved on to the pictures, and was once again in awe of Phil. But, her awe was more sexual than an enlightened awe. There were a few pictures that seemed to be senior photos for school with several poses that appeared fake. Phil didn't seem to enjoy being photographed there, but Kimi still found him hot. There were others that were more candid like one where Phil was outside with the sunlight and blue sky behind him while he ran his hand through his hair. Kimi saved that picture to her hard drive to admire later. In another picture, Phil was sitting on the grass staring off at something. The camera was positioned where Phil's face was only seen from the side while his body was slightly turned to face the camera. Kimi saw one candid photo where Phil was on his cell phone. She was sure that Lil had taken that because Phil had a look of surprise on his face.

Kimi was practically drooling over one photo with Phil where he was wearing worn, brown leather pants and tight gray shirt as he leaned up against the side of a building. Kimi let out a big sigh. "He's so sexy," she said to herself as she saved the picture and prepared to print it out.

As the printer spit the printed picture of Phil out, Kimi snatched it up and stared at it. She sank down into her computer chair and sighed. 'It wouldn't be a bad thing to tell Phil that he's hot. If I said it correctly; not just saying "you're hot," he'd take it as a compliment instead of being hit-on.'

While Kimi was daydreaming, the site reloaded. Her eyes caught sight of the page with a large rectangle pulsing on the page. She sat up in her chair and saw that the rectangle was Phil's web cam. He'd turned it on, and it focused on him. Phil looked upset, and Kimi wondered what was wrong. She watched him flop down in his chair and click his computer mouse.

Phil got back up out of his chair while he waited for something on the computer to change. He started taking his shirt off, and Kimi sucked in her breath. Her eyes scanned Phil's nicely toned body, which she'd never seen since toddler years. Not being able to remember those years, she had to admit he looked better than he used to; a lot of muscle made up his slim body. "Phil, you have no idea how sexed up you make me," she whispered to her computer screen.

Kimi heard Phil's computer connect to an instant messenger, the same one she had according to the sound. Phil pulled a worn, red shirt over his head, much to Kimi's disappointment, and smiled at the computer. "She's on," he said.

"Who?" Kimi asked to no one.

That was when an instant message popped up. It was Phil.

superstarsk8rBoy says: Hey Kimi, I didn't figure you'd be on.

KIMTASTICDORKGRL says: Yea, well I'm grounded.

Superstarsk8rboy says: NO! Why?

Kimi watched the web cam and saw Phil's face scrunch up. His hair fell across his eyes, and he sighed. He had no idea Kimi was watching him, and she had no intent on telling him; she was afraid he'd take it the wrong way.

KIMTASTICDORGRL says: I was grounded for coming in past my curfew.

Kimi heard Phil say, "I'm sorry," over the web cam but couldn't mention that she heard him say it.

superstarsk8rboy says: I'm sorry, Kimi.

KIMTASTICDORKGRL says: It's all right Phil. It wasn't your fault. Chuckie is the whole reason I didn't go home the first time you brought me home.

superstarsk8rboy says: I still feel responsible since you did go with me to the arcade.

KIMTASTICDORKGRL says: Don't feel responsible. It was fun. You really made me feel better tonight. It's a shame that Chuckie ruined it by making out with that girl.

Superstarsk8rboy says: yea, I wish you hadn't had to come home to that.

KIMTASTICDORKGRL says: Again, not your fault. But, it's nice to know you care.

Superstarsk8rboy says: I'll always care, kimi.

Kimi felt her heart skip at that line. 'Could he mean that he cares for me,' she asked herself. 'Or does he mean he cares about me? Oh, I hope it's he cares for me.' She chose to play it cool and not let Phil know anything about how she felt.

KIMTASTICDORKGRL says: It's good to know someone does.

Kimi was about to say more when she heard someone coming upstairs. 'Damn,' she thought.

KIMTASTICDORKGRL says: Phil, I've g2g. Someone's coming, and I don't want to be grounded for two weeks.

Superstarsk8rboy says: Sure, I'll see you at school then, I guess. Nite kimi.

KIMTASTICDORKGRL says: Goodnight, Phil. See you whenever I can.

Kimi logged off her messenger and then the internet. Quickly as she could, she turned the computer off and headed towards her bed. She laid down on the bed and shoved the picture she'd printed of Phil underneath her pillow. She saw no need for anyone to catch on to her feelings.

Kimi was relieved to find that no one had come into her room, so she got up and headed out of her room. It was time she got to bed. She left her room and saw the lights on in Chuckie's room. She cursed under her breath as she passed by his closed door.

Phil sighed after Kimi left, and he logged off of his web cam. Sitting there not doing anything, Phil stared at the ceiling. "I was really getting closer to Kimi tonight. Stupid Chuckie had to go and spoil the atmosphere Kimi and I had worked up. God, I might have even got to kiss her tonight if he hadn't been sucking Marina's face in the driveway."

At the thought of a missed kiss with Kimi, Phil shut his eyes. He'd fantasized about a kiss with Kimi for a while, and it was eating him alive to know that he was so close to his chance to experience the real thing and missed it because of timing.

"I can't keep living like this. I have to tell her how I feel." Phil said as he played over the night's events in his mind.


	6. Invitation to a Party

A/N: XxXCocoaPuffXxX, I'm glad you like my story. It's going to get better, I swear. More drama soon. I can't wait for it!

Chapter 6

Chuckie got up at eight the next morning to get ready for work. He gathered his clothes and headed to the bathroom for a shower. While he was in the shower, he couldn't get his mind off of Marina. He could see her beautiful face with her eyeliner and dark eye shadow, the dark shade of pink lip gloss, and thee soft foundation she wore. He could also see her wavy hair pulled up in the back and loose in the front. Her scent filled his mind, and Chuckie found himself having to take a deep breath in.

'God, she smelled so amazing last night,' he thought as his mind took him back to the previous night when he arrived home to find Marina waiting in the driveway. 'And the taste of her lips was more than I could expect.'

Chuckie turned the shower off, and the hot water dripped from his long, shaggy hair. He ran his hand through his natural red hair, causing it to stay slicked back. Chuckie reached over and grabbed a towel from the hooks on the shower door. He quickly dried off and preceded into dressing.

Kimi woke up to the sound of Chuckie's truck starting up, and she leaned up in bed. Drowsy from sleep, Kimi hesitated for a long time before finally getting up out of her bed. She sauntered over to the window and looked out, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight. She saw Chuckie's truck heading down the street. 'Damn,' she thought. 'I didn't get a chance to confront him about Marina.'

Kimi sighed. 'All well, I'll do that later. Now, I need sleep.' So, Kimi padded back to her bed and laid back down.

Chuckie rubbed his eyes and wondered why he took so many hours at work when he knew that he was suffering from sleep deprivation. But, he'd been doing the same thing for two years and was accustomed to it. So, Chuckie saw little reason to change.

The day looked very cheery in the bright, cloudless morning. Chuckie sighed. "It'd be a great day just to be outside," he told himself. "But, you have to go in to work."

It was a slow day at work, and Chuckie was one of the few high-school-age workers in work that day. Not that Chuckie didn't know that would happen at the sight of the day; even he wanted to be outside with them. But, he had priorities, and work was one on the list. So, he did not call in sick just to enjoy the day because he knew that the manager would have to hunt down some workers who were not scheduled to work. Chuckie didn't have the heart to make someone come in on what was suppose to be their day off. But, no one had to since there were enough workers to handle the slow morning crowd.

Chuckie seemed to watch the clock for hours until the time grew close to noon, his break time. He stacked new books on the shelf, straightened the old ones, and collected all the books kids and teenagers had stuck in the chairs. Sometimes, Chuckie didn't understand why the store had chairs and tables when people were so insensitive to others and stuck books wherever. Then, the workers had to pick up after them; it wasn't the workers' job to pick up after those people like maids, and they weren't paid enough to put up with the stress. More stress came from the inconsiderate people who ordered coffees from the in-store Starbucks. Empty or half-empty cups were left lying around; there were some on book cases, where they really didn't need to be because of a threat of harming the books, and some were hidden under the furniture. Chuckie really hated finding old coffee cups stuck in various locations because a few people didn't feel like walking back to the trashcan before they left. He and the other workers at Barnes and Noble had rap sessions periodically to discuss the problems, and that often helped relieve the foul moods brought about by the incidents.

At the boring moment Chuckie was having, he wished for those people to hide their coffee cups just so he'd have something to keep him busy. He'd resorted to going into the children's section and helping the girl there organize the disarray of books and toys. Within thirty minutes, the two of them had that mess clean and ready to be destroyed later in the day.

Chuckie even worked on one of the stores computers and updated the inventory as well as the website's inventory. But within an hour, he'd accomplished both and was left without something to do. So, he headed to the journal section to see if they needed help organizing the misplaced items. But, they didn't. So, Chuckie occupied himself with organizing the bargain book aisles. That took up the rest of the time until his break, and Chuckie was glad to be past the most boring three hours of his life.

After Chuckie had prepared to leave on break, Marina walked in like she'd said. He saw her and couldn't help but smile at her, which she smiled back. "Hey," she said when she neared him.

"Hi, you're right on time." Chuckie informed her.

"I know, and I'm glad because it seems that you would have left here if I had been any later." Marina replied eyeing Chuckie's outfit and noting that the name tag was gone.

Chuckie shrugged. "There's just nothing here to do today," he admitted.

"Want to go to lunch?" Marina asked.

Chuckie was caught by surprise; of course, he was headed for a lunch break, but he had not expected Marina to join him. "Sure."

"Great. Have you been to the new Chinese place that they set up in the mall in the food court?" Marina asked pointing toward the mall within walking distance of the Barnes and Noble.

"No, I can't say I have." Chuckie told her.

Marina's eyes widened. "Oh, we have to go there. They have great fried rice and orange chicken."

"Okay." Chuckie replied following Marina outside.

Chuckie and Marina sat in the food court and watched people pass as they ate. Chuckie noticed that Marina sat cross-legged in the seat while she ate, and he found that new and interesting. She'd been right about the fried rice; it was really good.

"So you're friends with Angelica?" Marina asked.

Chuckie took a sip of his Coca-Cola. "I guess you could say that. I'm best friends with her cousin Tommy. She used to terrorize us as kids."

Marina listened intently. "She was awesome last year as a senior, though. She really appreciated the decorations we had for prom and everything. She sent the whole class a Thank You card. It was so sweet. She's so pretty, too."

"She's using that to be a model while going to college. Her parents are working hard to get her into the movies. Charlotte especially. But, she's good-hearted now, and I wouldn't even know the difference if I hadn't been picked on by her as a kid."

Marina smiled at him. "I think prom this year will be great," she said.

Chuckie looked over at her, and she smiled. "We'll get to go together," she said.

Chuckie blushed, and Marina grinned at him. She reached over and touched his face. "You're so sweet, Chuckie. Why didn't I see you before now?"

"I'm not so sure that prom will be so wonderful; now with Tommy's little brother in the mix. He likes chaos." Chuckie said interrupting the sentimental moment.

Marina laughed. "I think prom will be fine." She put her fork down and was finished with her meal. "Would you like to come to a party I'm throwing tonight?"

"Me?" Chuckie asked as if he had misunderstood what she'd said.

"Yea, you. I'm having a big party at my house because my parents are never home because they travel with business and are too rich to care for their own daughter. Usually, once a month, I throw a huge party at my house. Tonight, I want you to come and hang out with me since I rarely have fun at the parties."

"You don't have fun but continue to hold the parties." Chuckie stated.

Marina shrugged. "People have come to expect it, I guess."

"I'll be there." Chuckie told her.

Marina smiled, and her smile warmed Chuckie's body temperature up. "Great, be there tonight at eight."

"You bet."

"I guess you have to get back to work." Marina stated.

"Yea, you want to walk out together?"

Marina gave a half-smile. "I would, but I'm going to stick around the mall and head over to Hottopic. It's time I spend some of the money my parents sent me to buy school clothes."

"All right, I'll see you tonight then." Chuckie told Marina as they walked towards the trashcan together.

"I'll be waiting." Marina told him as he began to walk away.


	7. The Heat is On

A/N: Thank you to XxXCocoaPuffXxX and Peachy15 for the reviews. Here's the next chapter.

Chapter 7

Chuckie came home around five-thirty and showered for Marina's party. After his shower, he spent a long time trying to decide what to wear. Eventually, Chuckie chose to wear a black t-shirt and jeans along with his black converse Chuck Taylor shoes. Chuckie had even put in his contacts. Then, he went downstairs to eat.

Kimi saw her brother go downstairs and followed him. She was intent on discussing the whole issue on her suspicions of Marina. She descended the stairs to see Chuckie fixing macaroni and cheese, his favorite thing to eat after he got off work. He glanced up and gave her a smile. "Want some mac-n-cheese?" Chuckie asked her.

Kimi shook her head. "No, thanks."

Chuckie knew something was bothering her; and by the way she was standing, it was something he had done. He remembered that Kimi saw him kissing Marina the night before, and he let out a sigh. "You want to talk, don't you?" Chuckie asked leaning against the counter.

"Yea, I do want to talk."

"About Marina, right?"

Kimi nodded. "Yes, why were you doing that?"

"You wouldn't understand, Kimi. You don't know how I feel about her."

Kimi let out a fake laugh. "Please, I know plenty about what you see in her. She's pretty and everything you never have been in school. She's ignored you since we've known her, so it doesn't make any sense that she wants to be with you now."

Chuckie sighed. "Kimi, you don't know her. I've talked with her, and she's really sweet and kind."

"It's got to be an act, Chuckie. I've watched the shit her friends do to the other students. They aren't a nice crowd."

"That doesn't mean a thing, Kimi. We're different from our friends in many ways."

Kimi shook her head. "No we aren't, Chuckie. We've known each other too long to be that different."

"We like different things, Kimi. Tommy likes motorcycles, Lil likes new fashions, you like standing out, Phil likes playing the guitar, Dil likes who-knows-what, but I like being myself."

"Chuckie, I don't want you to get hurt." Kimi explained.

"I've never dated anyone, Kimi. Just let me do this." Chuckie replied as he walked over and took the macaroni off of the burner. He added the powdered cheese and stirred it all together until it was unified.

Chuckie left his house at seven-thirty and found his way to Marina's house. He hadn't needed to make up an excuse to leave the house because his parents were out for a nice evening together. Chuckie was glad that he didn't have to lie to them because that would have made him feel uncomfortable.

Marina's house was huge; there were three stories along with a considerable amount of width to the building. He was in awe of her house as he pulled his truck up into the parking area by the front of the house. There was a whole yard full of vehicles parked near the house, but most were not near the parking area. Chuckie didn't get what the point of parking all the way on the driveway and yard was, but he didn't understand the psyche of most people. 'More than likely, they are parking over there to be destructive,' he thought.

Chuckie entered Marina's house and found it was wall-to-wall people, mostly the cool kids from school. Chuckie had never seen an instant where the "Preps" and the "Punks" or the "Goths" ever got along, but there they all were mingling together.

"There's something you don't see everyday." Chuckie said to himself.

The music was as loud as a dance club, and Chuckie wondered how there were so many people conversing. After pushing his way out of the doorway, Chuckie ended up by the staircase. He stood still and took a deep breath; all those people made him nervous. "Chuckie," he heard his name called from behind him. Chuckie turned to see Marina, dressed in a V-neck black shirt with light blue Pokka dots on it and a made-on sweater was tied around the shoulders and chest. Marina ran down the stairs and hugged Chuckie, nearly making him topple over.

"You came," she stated. "I really didn't know if you would seeing that you didn't seem too keen on it."

"I'd go anywhere for you," he told her.

Marina grinned at his savvy comment. "Come on, let's go get a soda."

Marina drug Chuckie through the crowd of people. Chuckie didn't know when or if he'd ever seen that many people making out or feeling each other up before. He didn't even remember seeing those people able to stand each other at schooll but seeing as there was alcohol everywhere, they found each other tolerable enough to get a free pass.

Marina unlocked the refrigerator, she kept the drawers, cabinets, and appliances locked to keep people from getting into them. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out two Coca-colas. She handed one to Chuckie, and he took it while smiling at her. She shut the refrigerator and locked it back up.

Both popped the tabs of the sodas and took long gulp of the cold, acidy liquid. Marina gestured for Chuckie to follow her to a door in the back of the kitchen. "Come on, this way is the assistant's way to get through the house. There'll be no one back her to crowd our way."

Chuckie followed, and Marina led her up a flight of stairs and down a corridor. The house was cheerfully painted white and decorated with expensive taste. "You're house is amazing," he told Marina.

"Yea, I am lucky sometimes to have rich parents. But, it becomes a nuisance when friends beg to come over just to check out the house instead of spend time with me. Or, they beg for me to give them a loan. I used to hand out money to my friends until I realized that it didn't make them better friends to me."

"Every life has it's pros and cons." Chuckie informed.

Marina stopped and stared at him with soft eyes. "See, that is why I should have met you sooner. You have a perspective on life that no one I've ever known has."

Chuckie blushed. "I just have spent my whole life in books, that's all."

"Well, maybe we all could learn from that." Marina replied pulling her large key ring out of her pocket and picked one key out off of it.

She unlocked a white door, and opened it. "Come on in her," she told him as she stood in the doorway.

Chuckie entered the room and marveled at the home theatre entertainment center. There was a big screen television, seats made like an actual theatre, and two pairs of large speakers set up on the floor. The room was bright white and blood red; the walls were white and the seats and plush carpet were red. "This room is amazing! Do you spend time in here?" Chuckie asked.

Marina locked the door back to keep curious people from nosing in the rooms with expensive furnishings. "Once in a while, but I have a TV in my room. So I don't use this room often, but I've always loved it." Marina walked over to the television equipment and started to turn it on. "Want to watch a movie," she asked.

Chuckie watched Marina stroll over to the TV, and he admired her dark, dark brown hair as it bounced against her neck and the how the light made the dots on Marina's shirt sparkle. He followed her over to the TV and pulled her over to him.

Marina looked up at him with a tad of surprise in her expression, but Chuckie leaned down and kissed her mouth hard before she had a chance to speak. She opened her mouth and welcomed his deep kisses as she wrapped her arms around Chuckie's neck. Her heartbeat sped up as he explored her mouth and she his.

Chuckie had only felt as good as he was feeling that moment the night before when he'd made-out with Marina. He didn't care if Marina was using him, he was sure she wasn't, like Kimi had said because he just loved kissing Marina. There was a strong sensation that ran down his spine and throughout his entire body when he had her in his arms with his mouth against hers.

Marina slid her hands down to Chuckie's hips and slowly slipped her hands underneath his t-shirt. He bit down on her lip in response, but it didn't hurt. In fact, it just made the ecstasy worse, and Marina began pulling Chuckie's shirt off.

Chuckie pulled out of his kiss with Marina and stared at her, bewildered for a moment. The situation was very new to him, but it felt too good to persuade him that it was wrong. So, Chuckie aided Marina in getting his shirt off. Chuckie didn't have well-toned muscles, but he wasn't scrawny either.

Marina slipped her top, with the thin sweater, off and stood in front of Chuckie with her red and black striped silky bra on. She walked up to Chuckie and kissed him hard, making sure to run her hands slowly down his back then moving over his hip bones where she latched her fingers around his front belt loops.

Chuckie felt his heart skip a beat as Marina's grip tightened on his belt loops, and he held her closer to his body. Marina pulled him down with her until they were on their knees, still holding onto their kiss. She pushed him down onto the unbelievably soft carpet and laid flat against his body. Marina pulled away from the kiss and stared down into Chuckie's brown eyes. "Do you want this," she asked breathlessly.

Chuckie didn't even have to think over it; he just answered Marina, "Yes," and rolled her down against the soft carpet.

A/N: If I have told Chuckie's eye color before and changed it in this chapter, let me know and I'll fix it. Thanks, and I hope this chapter wasn't too risqué.


	8. Sparks of Attraction

A/N: XxXCocoaPuffXxX I'm glad you still love the story. Sorry this took so long and may not be an especially good chapter. I've had a busy week. But, I'm loving writing this story.

Chapter 8

Kimi was bored with sitting at home being grounded with nothing to do. She'd tried reading for a while after Chuckie had left for Marina's party, which Kimi knew nothing about what Chuckie was doing over at the party. Kimi finally had decided that since her parents were not in that she could do whatever she wanted. So, she turned her computer on and immediately connected to the internet. She was overly impatient as it connected to the browser.

She turned on her messenger, and waited to hear the mechanical ding to show she had no new messages. But before she could be disappointed, an instant message popped up. It was Phil.

SuperStarS8RBoy says: Hey chick! Whatcha up to?

KIMTASTICDORKGIRL says: Still grounded, but no one's home. I'm sooo bored, Phil.

SuperStarS8RBoy says: Why don't I come over there?

KIMTASTICDORKGIRL says: I wouldn't want you to get in trouble.

Kimi thought it was really sweet for Phil to suggest coming over, but she didn't want in any more trouble. Also, she didn't want Phil in trouble for coming to see her. So, she turned down his offer.

SuperStarS8RBoy says: Well, all right then. How about I come get you and bring you here?

Kimi really wanted to go over to Phil's house and spend time with him. She would have been extremely happy just to talk with him over there.

KIMTASTICDORKGIRL says: I would if my parent's wouldn't call to check on me.

SuperStarS8RBoy says: Then, I will come over and see you.

KIMTASTICDORKGIRL says: NO! I don't want you grounded for being here while I'm grounded.

SuperStarS8RBoy says: I'm not afraid of my parents who are never home anymore. They can't make Lil or me mind while not being here. So, I'll grab my guitar and head over there.

KIMTASTICDORKGIRL says: Sigh All right. But if you get in trouble, it wasn't my fault.

SuperStarS8RBoy says: I'd never think of blaming you, Kimi. Well, I'll see you real soon.

Kimi watched Phil log off, and she leaned back in her chair. She sighed and realized that she felt very jumpy about Phil coming over. She really wanted to see him, and she knew that it would be hard to not tell him how she felt about him. Remembering that she had the picture printed off of Phil, Kimi ran over to her bed and hid the photo under her pillow. "It'll be safe there," she said to herself. "He won't see it."

Phil arrived at the Finster house soon after he spoke with Kimi. When he got there, Kimi was standing at the door waiting for him. He opened his truck door, grabbed his backpack and guitar, and got out of his truck. Then, he shut the door. He winked at Kimi and watched her shake her head.

"Hey chick," he greeted her.

"Hey Phil." Kimi replied entering her house and waiting for Phil to follow.

Phil came inside carrying his guitar and handed his CDs over to Kimi. She immediately started filing through them and looking at them. There was the two Avril CDs, and many more various artists. He had a cornucopia of music styles, and Kimi found that could be quite useful. But, she realized that was why he had such good music clips on his website.

Phil saw Kimi looking at the Cds and asked, "Want to listen to one?"

Kimi glance at the cds in her hand and chose the newest Avril Cd, _Under My Skin_. She headed for her room, and glanced behind her to see Phil following obediently. She set the Cds down on her bed and opened the Avril CD case. She took out the shiny disc and went to her stereo. She pressed the on button and opened the CD holding slots. She replaced an empty slot with the CD and shut the CD changer.

Kimi and Phil listened to the entire CD, then Phil started playing his acoustic guitar. He played Avril's "How Does It Feel," and Kimi started singing to it. Even having heard it once, she had picked up on most of the words. Her singing wowed Phil, and he just stared at Kimi while playing. He'd never expected she knew how to sing so well, and he liked her voice. It had a sweet sound to it, and he tried to keep the song going.

Kimi caught on, and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I want you to sing more. Your voice is amazing. Why didn't you ever say you could sing that well?"

Kimi blushed and brushed back a lock of jet black hair. "I was embarrassed," she replied.

"With a set of pipes like that, there's no reason to be." Phil told her, still unable to wipe the surprised but happy looked off of his face.

"Let's sing it together. I've been to your website and heard you sing." Kimi told him.

Phil grinned. "That was a summer project."

Kimi smiled more than sweetly. "It was better than a 'summer project,' Phil. And last night, you sang very well. Are you in a band?"

"Yes, but they don't meet very often. I usually set up the meetings."

"That's a shame." Kimi told him.

"Let's sing this song together." Phil suggested.

Kimi nodded. "All right."

The time that Phil was singing with Kimi, his heart was pounding, and his mind wasn't concentrating. All he wanted to do was kiss Kimi hard and hold her in his arms. Soon, the ending of the song drew near. Phil felt his mouth go dry on the last chord, and he stopped playing while feeling a bit nervous.

Kimi looked over at him, and he smiled. She was almost egging him on to kiss her, or Phil believed she was. In fact, she really was wanting to kiss him but didn't know he felt the same way. So, she sat there fighting over the right thing to do.

So, Phil took matters into his own hands and leaned over to give Kimi the kiss he'd wanted to give her for years.


	9. Mishaps Happen

A/N: Oh, wow Thanks to XxXCocoaPuffXxX for reading my story this whole time, but I'd ALSO love to thank the rest of the nice reviews who read my story thus far. Ah hem, they are Puppy Dog, The Wraith4--whose stories I've read recently and love them--, Mental Patient 16, Amelda's Angel, and Idiotic child; thanks for reading my story. OH and Amelda's Angel, I got the idea after thinking of cartoons that I watched as a kid and wondered how I could update them to fit my interests now. Anyway, back to Chuckie's side of the story.

Chapter 9

Chuckie began to slip his clothes back on when Marina brushed her hand against his back. Her touch made his skin tingle, and he stopped and turned to stare at Marina. He laid back down beside her and nuzzled her neck. His mind was far from everyday reality and on the fact that the first girl he'd slept with was the one girl he'd loved for four years.

Marina pulled Chuckie's mouth up to her own and gave him a lingering kiss. "I love you," she admitted to him.

Chuckie stared down into her lovely eyes. "Really?" It just sounded too perfect to be the truth.

Marina smiled at him. "Believe me; it's true. I felt it here tonight, and I've never felt love like this before."

Chuckie felt his heart skip, and he pressed his mouth against Marina's. He delicately held her face as his lips brushed over hers. Her hands were pressed against his bare chest, and she moved her hands up to his shoulders and held tight.

Chuckie pulled away from the kiss and told Marina, "I love you so much, Marina. You don't know how much I've wanted you to know I love you."

"I wish I would have sooner; I really do." Marina told him.

Chuckie smiled uncontrollably, and laid down against Marina's body. She put her arms around him and had her hands in his long, shaggy hair. She'd never wanted to be with anyone the way she wanted to be with Chuckie. Of course she'd had other relationships, but she was never as comfortable with them as she was with Chuckie. He just made her feel right all the time, and that was all that Marina wanted in love.

Soon, Chuckie noticed the clock. "Damn," he muttered.

Marina loosened her grip on Chuckie's neck. "What," she inquired.

Chuckie sighed. "It's getting late. I have to get home before my parents do."

Marina let Chuckie go, and he got up as he pulled on his t-shirt. Marina also slipped on her clothes and walked over to Chuckie. She placed her hand on the dip in his back as they walked over to the door. She unlocked the door and let Chuckie out first so she could lock the door behind her. Before Marina shut the door, she checked to make sure she had her keys; she did.

Chuckie and Marina walked together down the staircase, and Marina even laced her fingers with Chuckie's. She loved seeing his smile and blush in return; he was more than she had ever wished for in a boyfriend. There was no chance she was letting Chuckie slip away from her now that she had exposed both of their vulnerable sides.

"Marina, what the hell?" A voice shouted.

Marina's head turned, and her loose, brunette mane tossed about her face. Standing less than ten feet away was Marina's latest ex-boyfriend, Sonny Vance. Marina tried to pull Chuckie for the door, but Sonny moved around to face the two of them.

Sonny eyed Chuckie then Marina before he took notice of what and where they had been. He let out a disbelieving laugh. "You have to be kidding, Marina. You screwed this loser."

Marina and Chuckie took serious offense to what Sonny had said. "Watch your mouth, Vance." Marina warned.

"Whatcha gonnna do about it, Marina?" Sonny looked over at Chuckie. "Send your little sex buddy after me?"

Marina felt Chuckie's hand tighten around her own hand, and she glanced at him. His face was calm, but she knew that Chuckie was not taking the comments lightly. He was upset over Sonny's pathetic bully behavior. 'I have more intellect than he ever will.' Chuckie thought.

"So, what's your point of being with this loser, Marina? Forget him and come back to me. You know you want to." Sonny urged.

Marina pushed past Sonny. "I would never go back to you in my life; you tried to rape me."

Sonny followed her. "But, you offer it over to this freak."

Marina stopped and glared at Sonny. "You never understood me, so don't try to woo me back now. Chuckie understands me move than you ever did or ever will." She let out a long sigh. "So, just go home, Sonny because you aren't wanted here."

Sonny shoved past Marina and never looked back. He left the party, and Marina let out another sigh. She looked over at Chuckie. "I'm sorry," she told him.

Chuckie shook his head. "It's not your fault."

"It feels like it's my fault."

"It's not your fault you're so amazing that any guy you've dated wants to have you back. That's human nature; not wanting to admit failure."

Marina laughed. "They want me back, but that won't happen because I'm with you now."

Chuckie grinned. "That's nice to know," he replied. "But, will you feel the same in a week, or maybe even two days from now? Right now it's new and--"

Marina held her hand up to stop Chuckie's sentence and reached around her back to unhook her bra. Having to look a little silly to get the bra off, Marina pulled the intimate article of clothing off and handed it to Chuckie. "Here, this proves I'm serious. This is the most expensive bra I have, and you keep it for as long as we are together." Marina said.

Chuckie didn't take the bra because he felt odd in doing so. "I don't know."

"Go ahead; this is my proof to you. Besides, you've all ready seen it laying in the floor off of my body, so it won't hurt to have it and don't be embarrassed to take it."

Chuckie stared Marina in the eyes for a moment before he took the bra from her hand. Marina looked justified and said, "Go ahead and lose it if you want because you won't need to give it back."

Chuckie caught her hint that she wasn't going to end their relationship, and he felt better about her proving that she meant what she said. He leaned in and gave Marina a goodbye kiss before he left. Marina savored that kiss since she knew that would be the last one she got for a day or two. His lips were so soft and gentle, and Marina had honestly never been kissed by lips by any means of "gentle." All the guys she dated had been overly rough when kissing her, so she enjoyed the vast difference of Chuckie's kisses.

Finally, Chuckie parted from the kiss. "I'll see you on Monday," he told her. "That is definite."

Marina nodded. "Yes, and I will meet you at your locker."

"Goodnight, Marina."

"Goodnight, Chuckie." Marina answered as she watched Chuckie make his way to the door and leave. She sighed and realized that the trouble with Sonny was something she hadn't thought would happen. It worried her that Sonny got so angry and upset over her being with Chuckie. She feared that Sonny's untamed behavior would result in a fight over her, and she didn't want Chuckie to be in a fight over her poor choice of ex-boyfriends.

Chuckie arrived home thankfully before his parents; he had fretted that he would have to explain where he had been. But, they were still absent from the driveway. Chuckie saw that a truck was parked in the driveway; and after getting closer, he discovered it was Phil's truck. "What's he doing here," he asked out loud. "Kimi's grounded, so no one should be here."

Chuckie turned his truck engine off and pulled out his keys. At a fairly fast pace, Chuckie opened his door and hopped out of his truck. He took a brisk walk to the door and found it locked. "Well, at least the house is safe," he muttered as he used his key to unlock the door.

Phil's mouth was mere millimeters from Kimi's mouth when he heard a disturbance in the environment. It only took a short second for Phil to realize it was Chuckie, and he jumped away from Kimi just before Chuckie passed by the room. Kimi caught sight of her brother then looked over at Phil. She sighed out of frustration; she'd nearly succeeded in being kissed by Phil, and Chuckie had ruined it.

Phil felt the same way; he was angry at Chuckie for ruining another "would have been" moment with Kimi. 'He's gonna have to learn to make better entrances or lack of entrances,' Phil thought glumly. 'I was so close, so freaking close, to kissing Kimi this time. Why did he have to interrupt it?'

"Kimi." Chuckie said.

"What?" Kimi answered rather snottily.

"Aren't you grounded?" Chuckie questioned as he stepped into the doorway and glanced over to Phil.

"Did you get permission to leave tonight?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Chuckie replied.

Kimi shrugged. "Nothing, I guess. I just don't think you have the right to judge me over anything since I did get grounded because I wasn't about to come in with that girl sitting outside waiting for you."

Chuckie sighed and realized that he didn't want his spirit to be bogged down by Kimi's worries. He'd spent the best night of his life with Marina, and he wouldn't let Kimi criticize his girlfriend in front of him.

"Again, Kimi, you don't know her." Chuckie answered.

"And you don't have to have your nose stuck in my business." Kimi shot back.

"If you'd keep your nose out of my life, then I'd keep my nose out of yours." Chuckie retaliated.

Phil stood up and put his hands in the air; he knew that a brother-sister-fight could last for a long period of time. "Hey, I gotta get," he said gaining the feuding siblings attention.

Kimi opened her mouth to protest but didn't; she didn't want Chuckie to catch on that she wanted Phil to stay because she was in love with him. So, she watched Phil collect his Cds and guitar. She even watched him head for her doorway before she even spoke. "See you at school, Phil."

"Yea, see you then." Phil replied giving Kimi a sweet smile, which left her a tad bit giddy.

Chuckie waved to Phil and said, "Monday," in reference of seeing him on Monday at school.

"Yes, see you Monday." Phil replied trying to keep from sounding angry with Chuckie.

Chuckie sighed and headed for his room; he'd shower in the upcoming morning because he was too worn out to take a shower right then. In all honesty, Chuckie was too tried to even change. He felt it was weird that he'd been fine until he'd reached home, but he knew there was no trying to overcome sleep. So, he headed for his bedroom to go to sleep.


	10. Friendly Attack

A/N: Thanks to my reviewers once again. To XxXCocoaPuffXxX and Puppy Dog for their reviews over chapter nine. Now, here is the next chapter.

Chapter 10

After a week of dating, whispers seemed to fill the school hallways like a thick fog. Nowhere could Chuckie and Marina go without one person not knowing about the sexual side of their relationship. Chuckie always turned red with embarrassment when he caught the glances or part of a whisper, but Marina always held tighter onto his arm; that always made him feel better and more at ease.

Chuckie let a breath he'd been holding out as he and Marina stepped into the history classroom. The two of them sat in the back together, even though Chuckie felt bad about abandoning his friends. He also didn't strive to get extra assignments since he'd been dating Marina. In his mind, he saw no need for them. All he felt he wanted was Marina's attention, so he didn't need to fill the emptiness in his soul with school work or excessive reading.

Kimi had held her tongue about her brother's relationship with Marina after the fight she'd had with Chuckie about staying out of her privacy. He'd basically agreed to leave her alone if she would leave his personal affairs alone. So, she'd stopped butting into Chuckie's life, and it was eating away at her. She knew that the rumors spreading around about Chuckie sleeping with Marina were true, and that made her have to bite her tongue even more. She couldn't let Chuckie know that she disapproved of his lifestyle, especially when most of the closest friends--Tommy and Lil--had boyfriends and girlfriends and were sleeping with them. Kimi didn't know about Phil, and she was afraid to pursue the matter since she didn't want to know if Phil had ever had sex with some girl from the school or a hang out spot.

At the thought of Phil, Kimi glanced over at him and saw him half-asleep. She nudged his arm, she was sitting across from him, and he jerked awake. He stared at her bewildered as he brought himself back into reality. He gave her a weak grin and picked his pencil up and wrote the notes that the teacher was giving.

Kimi glanced up at Phil as she wrote her notes, and her heart was pounding. 'God, I really wish I knew if he was a virgin or not,' she thought. 'Knowing for sure couldn't possibly do as much damage to me as fretting about it does.' She glanced longer at Phil. 'Could it even be possible that some girl hasn't had sex with him yet? He's so amazing and sexy, so I don't see why a girl wouldn't have all ready done him.'

"Miss Finster," the teacher said with a hint of agitation in her voice.

Kimi was jerked out of her thoughts, which had left her face red when attention was called upon her. "Could you repeat--" she stared to say.

"I want to know why you weren't paying attention."

Kimi took a deep breath and glanced over at Phil, whose eyes were as wide as they could go. 'I can't tell what I was really thinking about.'

Phil held up his notes and pointed to where they were. Kimi read that they were talking about the 1920s when children used to sneak into the theaters. So, Kimi devised a quick thought-provoking question. "I was just mulling over what it would have been like to have been in that time period and been able to use one ticket to see several shows--illegally, of course--and it makes me wonder how different was that really from today? I mean, people are now taping movies in the theaters to download on the internet. Isn't that like sneaking into a theater to watch a movie that you didn't pay to see?"

Seeing the approval on the teacher's face, Kimi let out a relieved sigh and smiled at Phil. 'Thank you,' she thought. 'Thank you so damn much for saving my ass.' Phil winked at her and gave her a thumbs up.

"Very interesting view, Miss Finster." The teacher replied. "Can anyone give an answer to that question?"

Lunch was right after history, so Kimi ran up and pulled Phil's shirt, a black shirt from Hot Topic that said 'What If the Hokey Pokey Is What It's All About?' Besides finding the shirt amusing, Kimi wanted to thank Phil for saving her during class. "Thanks in there for keeping my ass out of the principal's office."

Phil grinned at her. "What are you gonna do for me for it," he asked in a sexual-harassment-sort of way.

Kimi caught on and bit her tongue to keep from saying she'd do _anything_ he wanted from her. Kimi shoved Phil's arm and rolled her eyes. "Shut up," she laughed.

"You're turning red." Phil teased as he walked backwards.

Kimi grabbed him by the shirt and turned him around to see where he was going as he walked. She walked by his side and replied to him, "You embarrass me," she lied.

"Liar," he told her. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "You want me."

Kimi playfully shoved Phil away and laughed as she shook her head. It was more of a nervous laugh as she tried to keep from spilling her feelings out to Phil then and there. School was no place to share sexual feelings and desires because of the eyes and ears that are always there. "You are not as charming as you think you are, Phil." Kimi told him.

Phil scooted closer and leaned against Kimi. "Maybe not, but that's not what you really think, is it?"

Kimi stared Phil right in his beautiful blue eyes and couldn't seem to speak. She took a breath but lost her train of thought. 'If I could just kiss him,' she thought. 'Then everything would be better.'

Kimi was about to reply to Phil when Lil came rushing for them. "Yo, listen up," she said.

"What is it, Lil?" Phil asked through clenched teeth; his sister had been the one to interrupt his moment with Kimi. 'Siblings are no good for anything some days,' he thought.

"Tommy's gotten Chuckie to come sit by us, and we're all gonna have a rap session with him. So whatever you've got to discuss with him, bring it up here and now."

Marina had sat down with her friends until Chuckie would be finished talking with his friends. He had walked over to their table and sat down. Tommy, Lil, Phil, Kimi, and even Dil were sitting at the table on the side so they could all be facing Chuckie. "So, what's up?" Chuckie asked.

"We have talk about your behavior lately." Tommy stated.

Chuckie knew what was coming and started to get up. "Hell no, I don't need this," he told them.

"Sit, Finster." Phil told him. "This is serious, and shouldn't you try to work problems out with us--your friends?"

"Not if you're going to cut my girlfriend to shreds in the conversation." Chuckie replied.

"We just want to let our thoughts be out in the open." Lil explained.

Chuckie glanced over to his sister for support, but she glanced down at the table. "I don't believe this. Don't any of you want me to be happy?"

"It isn't that Chuck," Dil replied. "We don't want to keep things bottled up anymore."

"Chuckie, you either sit down and we all talk out how we feel or go back over there to Marina and turn your back on us. But know that if you leave, you won't be welcome back if things go awry with her." Tommy warned.

Chuckie stared at each and every one of his friends' faces. He'd known them his whole life, and he didn't want to lose them just because he loved Marina. So, he sat down and waited for the verbal abuse to begin. "Okay, shoot," he told them.

"First off," Tommy told Chuckie, "You haven't been giving all your effort in your studies anymore."

"I did that because I had no life outside of school; you all know that. Now, I have Marina, and I don't have to bury myself in books or school work. And, my grades are fine, so that isn't a problem."

"Well, you tend to ignore us in the hallways and classes." Lil added.

"I'm with Marina--"

"So, that gives you the right to push us to the backburner?" Dil shot back.

Chuckie sighed; there was a lot of stress soaking in. "No, but none of you will give her a chance. So, why bring her around you?"

"You've never even tried to bring her around to see if we could all get along." Phil said. "So, how do you know it wouldn't?"

Chuckie stared straight at Kimi as he replied, "Because I know there are hostile feelings about Marina. She doesn't need to be around people who won't accept her."

Phil got a little huffy about Chuckie aiming that comment at Kimi, even if Kimi had made her feelings about Marina well-known. Kimi was still just looking for her brother's best interest. "I'm sure we could all set aside feelings just to see if things could work out." Phil replied crossing his arms.

Chuckie half-way ignored Phil's reply. He was staring at Kimi. "So, Kim, what do you have to add," he asked in a harsh tone.

Kimi just stared at her brother then looked away with tears on the verge of spilling from her eyes. She never really gotten such a tone from Chuckie, even when they fought. He was always calm and never raised his voice. "You don't have to yell," she told him.

"Really? It seems you have to yell whenever you speak up on your problems with Marina. You can yell, but I can't?"

Phil saw tears spill down her cheeks, and he'd had enough. "Go on and sit with your new friends, Chuckie. If Marina means more to you than the feelings of your friends and sister, then go on!"

Chuckie was a little bewildered by Phil's outburst, and so were the rest at the table. But Kimi silently thanked Phil again for saving her. She put her hands to her face and ran out of the room. She didn't need the whole lunchroom seeing her cry.

Phil wanted to run after her, but Lil was all ready on it. He kept his eyes locked on Chuckie, who stared over at him. Chuckie finally rose up and left the table where his friends sat. He didn't look back once after he left.


	11. Night of Pleasure

A/N: Thanks to XxXCocoaPuffXxX and TheWraith4 for their lovely comments. "Broken" by Seether Featuring Amy Lee is used in this story because I think it is absolutely beautiful.

Chapter 11

The weekend soon came, and Chuckie had not spoken with his friends or his sister. Kimi and Chuckie were civil in front of their parents, but that was as far as the civility went. Chuckie and Kimi would leave the table and not speak another word to each other, and Kimi felt horrible about it. She rarely saw Chuckie angry, and she didn't like him being so angry at her. She was the one he was most angry with because he still respected Tommy, Dil was younger, and Phil had scared him. Kimi didn't know much on how Chuckie felt on Lil, but she knew that he was seriously hacked with her.

Chuckie left on Friday and told his parents that he was going to Tommy's--they had no idea that Chuckie was feuding with his friends--and was given permission to leave. So, Chuckie drove out to Marina's to stay most of the weekend; he had the weekend off from work for a change.

Seeing Marina immediately lifted Chuckie's low spirits, and she greeted him with a gentle kiss. He savored the moment before they went inside. For once in a long time, Marina hadn't thrown a party, and she wasn't planning on having any more parties ever again. She saw no need to have company when Chuckie could give her as much company as she ever got from the party-goers; he gave her more company than she would ever need.

Chuckie and Marina wasted no time in racing upstairs to Marina's bedroom, where they quickly shut the door behind them. Inside, both pulled clothes off as they exchanged deep, deep kisses. Marina, left in an aqua-colored satiny bra, had her hands in Chuckie's shaggy hair as her mouth moved past his. Marina couldn't think of anything better than being with Chuckie as they fell onto her soft bed.

Marina landed on top of Chuckie, and she nuzzled his neck. Chuckie held Marina against his body as he inhaled the scent of her hair; it was a nice fruit blend. Marina began to kiss Chuckie's neck and move down to his chest before he pulled her mouth back up to meet his.

Marina held onto Chuckie's shoulders as their kisses lingered and as he rolled her down onto the mattress. His hair tickled her cheeks as his fingertips glided down her body. She pulled him down against her and stared into his brown eyes; there was so much emotion in his eyes. She brushed her lips against his, which sent shivers up both of their spines. Then, Marina leaned back as Chuckie began to kiss up her neck.

Kimi sat at home, bored out of her mind. So, she picked up the phone to see if anyone was on it. No one was, so she dialed Phil's cell phone. There was three rings, then a breathy, "Hello."

Kimi's first thought was not a good one when she heard the Phil's breathless voice over the phone. "Phil, it's Kimi," she answered.

"Hey, Kimi, what's up?"

"Nothing much except that I'm seriously bored."

"Do you want me to come get you and bring you out here? We could watch movies or something." Phil suggested.

"I'd love that." Kimi realized what she'd said and figured she'd better add more to it. "I have to get out of this house before I die of boredom."

"I'll be there in no time." Phil said with a smile on his face. He knew that Kimi couldn't see the smile, but he was fine with that. He was sure she heard it in his voice; he was really happy to have Kimi nearly beg to come over. Plus, no one was at his house to screw up any plan of him kissing Kimi.

Kimi didn't have to wait long for Phil to get there, but she was glad for that. She was waiting outside for him; she'd told her parents that she was going to Phil and Lil's to hang out, and they didn't protest. The figured that Lil would be there and was the one Kimi was going to hang out with. They had no idea that Kimi preferred to see Phil because she was so in love with him.

Kimi climbed into Phil's truck, and smiled at him. "Hey," she greeted him.

"Hey chick," he replied grinning at her.

Phil took the truck out of park as soon as Kimi closed her door and buckled her seatbelt. "So, where's brother?" Phil asked making quick conversation in the fact that Chuckie's truck was missing from the driveway. "Working?"

"I'd say yes if I didn't have a nagging feeling that isn't where he is."

"Ah, you think he's with Marina." Phil replied softly.

"Yea, and I don't think there's any reason to stop him. He all ready hates me." Kimi replied settling down into the seat of Phil' truck.

Phil glanced over at her. "He can't 'hate' you."

Kimi looked over at Phil by the pale, blue light of the radio. "He does; we're only civil to each other during dinner so that our parents don't find out he's having sex."

Phil let out a sigh. "I thought my relationship with Lil was bad," he said.

Kimi sighed as well. "I don't know how it got this bad, Phil. It didn't used to be. I just don't trust that girl because she hasn't been associated with such good press around school."

"Yea, she has been in trouble for various things." Phil added. "Like, the spray paint all over the girl's locker room. Her friends were the ones to do that. So, she was in on it as well I'd suppose."

"Sure." Kimi replied.

It was only a few minutes later that Phil's truck pulled into the driveway to his house. He and Kimi hopped out, and he pulled out his keys. He unlocked the front door and opened the door for Kimi. She smiled as she walked in, and he trailed behind her. Phil flipped the light switch on, and the house filled with light. He closed the door and locked it up.

"So, what do you want do?" Phil asked as he put his keys away in his back pocket.

Kimi looked over at Phil and took in every detail of his attire; he had on a shirt that had the school crest on it, and it surprised Kimi. But, he had on worn blue jeans and a studded belt to match the studded wrist bands on his wrists. Phil also had black Chuck Taylor Converse shoes on. Kimi had to admit that even normal, Phil was very sexy.

"I don't know, you live here. Surprise me." Kimi told him.

Phil grinned. 'We can't do what I have in mind, so I'm not sure.'

"How about we sing?"

"All right." Kimi replied happily; singing along with Phil made her feel really good.

Phil led Kimi up to his bedroom and opened the door. He turned on the light and blushed at the mess that was inside. "Sorry that it's messy."

Kimi laughed. "Please, it's not so bad."

Phil pushed clean clothes there were lying in the floor out of the way. He turned and saw Kimi laughing at his antics. "It's fine, really."

Phil stood up straight and grabbed his acoustic guitar off of its stand. He walked over to his bed and sat by his pillows. Kimi sat at the foot of his bed and waited for Phil as he tuned his guitar to fit the song he was about to play. Finally, Phil started playing the opening chords to "Broken" by Seether featuring Amy Lee. "I wanted you to know, I love the way you laugh. I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away. I keep your photograph, and I know it serves me well." Phil began the song.

Kimi watched him closely and felt her heart skip every line, especially since she wished Phil would say things along the lines of the song in regular conversation. Her heart was beating so fast that she wasn't sure that she could come in on the chorus. But, she kept it together. "Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome, and I don't feel right when you're gone away. You've gone away. Kimi and Phil sang together with perfect blending voices.

Phil smiled and watched as Kimi sang Amy Lee's verse. "The worst is over now, and we can breathe again. I wanna hold you high and steal my pain away. There's so much left to learn, and no one left to find. I wanna hold you high and steal your pain."

The two friends began the chorus again, and Phil went into the guitar solo. Kimi watched with complete awe, and she noticed Phil smiled at her. She even swore he winked at her, but she couldn't be for sure.

The song ended too soon, and Phil set his guitar back on its stand. He looked over at Kimi and felt his mouth go dry. There was so much that he wanted to share with her, but he didn't have the courage to do so. So, he walked back over to where he had been sitting on his bed.

Kimi picked at the frayed hem on the cuff of her jean pant leg. "Phil," she said with a burning question in her mind.

"Yea." Phil replied to her.

"Does it seem weird that all of our friends or family are having sex?" Kimi asked wearily still focused on her pants hem.

Phil shifted uncomfortably. "Nah, it's normal teenager reaction to each other," he replied.

Kimi forced herself to stare Phil in the face; she wouldn't let her embarrassment shield her from the truth. She had to know the truth about Phil, especially since he hadn't seemed appalled by the question she'd asked. "Are you a virgin?"

Phil froze for a moment and headed for his door. "Are you thirsty," he muttered as he inched towards the open door frame.

Phil was halfway out of the door when Kimi called, "Walking away automatically means 'yes.'"

Kimi heard Phil sigh, and she watched him step back into the room. He wouldn't look her in the eye as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm curious." Kimi left it at that; she didn't feel it was right to add that she was dying to know if she'd be his first because she didn't know if he had any interest in her at all.

Phil took a few steps closer to Kimi. 'Why is she curious,' he wondered. 'Could she be interested in me that way? God, I hope so.' He took a deep breath and shakily replied, "Yea, I am." He hated to admit it, but it was the truth.

Phil saw Kimi exhale, and he wondered what she was up to. "Are you," he asked.

Kimi stared up into his blue eyes and nodded. "Yes," she replied. "I was afraid I was the only one of our friends who was."

Phil sat down beside her and noticed her outfit; it was a red camisole made out of silky material over rugged jeans. He swallowed hard as he put his hand over Kimi's right hand, which was sitting on her knee. He squeezed her hand and told her, "You aren't the only one, Kimi."

Kimi let out a smile then pulled her hand out of Phil's. "I figured you wouldn't be."

"Why?" Phil asked with a curiosity.

Kimi ran her fingers in Phil's hair, and he stiffened up at her unexpected touch. "Just everything about you seems like what girls want."

Phil honestly didn't know what to do; Kimi had just hit on him, and he was in shock. For so long, he'd wanted her attention. Now, he had it and didn't know what to do with it. So, he leaned down and brushed his lips against Kimi's.

The kiss sent shivers up Phil's spine as well as Kimi's. She immediately wrapped her arms around Phil's neck and pushed the kiss further. His lips were full and demanded to be kissed more than once. She felt his hands on her back, holding her against him.

Kimi pushed Phil down against his bed and pulled away from the kiss. Heat radiated throughout her body, and Kimi enjoyed it. She couldn't stop the rush that led to what she said. She whispered into Phil's ear, "Let's see what the big deal about sex is."

Phil stared into Kimi's green eyes in disbelief that he wasn't dreaming. Everything was happening like a dream, and he certainly didn't want to wake up if it was. He rolled Kimi down against the mattress and found himself straddling her. Quickly, he hopped off of his bed and walked over to the door.

Kimi sat up and asked, "What's the matter?"

Phil shut and locked his door. "I just wanted to be prepared," he said as he stumbled a little. The rush of hormones had caused him to be far more clumsier than he was. He stopped by his nightstand and opened the drawer. Kimi saw a box in the drawer and stared up Phil. "You're sure you're a virgin," she asked at the sight of the condom box in Phil's nightstand.

Phil nodded with a flush to his face. "Yea, Lil bought these and hid them in my room for her boyfriend."

Kimi made a face, and she and Phil laughed. Phil climbed onto the bed and straddled Kimi's legs. He leaned down and kissed her hard before he pulled his mouth away from hers. "Even if we're gonna share our first time, there's no reason not to be safe about it," he explained.

Kimi slipped her camisole off, and Phil pulled his t-shirt away. His hair frizzed up a little bit from the static, and Kimi laughed. She smoothed his hair down before running her hands down his toned chest. Phil leaned down against Kimi, and she inhaled at the touch of his bare torso against hers. It made her heart flip, and she pressed her mouth against Phil's, willing a very deep kiss. Both of them felt more than ready for what was to come.


	12. Blooming Love

A/N: Thanks to XxXCocaPuffXxX for the review, and thanks to Skittles for your review on chapter 10. You were right about Phil and Kimi hooking up.

Chapter 12

Lil and Dustin arrived at Lil's house soon after Phil shut his bedroom door. She and Dustin planned to do the very thing that Phil and Kimi were in his room doing, but she heard the noises coming from her brother's room. That disrupted her plans.

Lil stood where she was listening to the sounds coming from her brother's room, and she felt a little ill. Dustin was kissing on her neck, and she pushed him away. He backed up and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Shh." Lil shushed him. "Hear that?"

Dustin was quiet for a moment before he started laughing. "Sounds like your brother finally got of his high horse and found a piece of--"

"Shh!" Lil hissed again.

Lil walked closer to her brother's bedroom door, and she pressed her ear against the door. She held her breath as she heard more than she cared to hear, but she had no idea who was in the room with Phil. So, she backed away and headed towards her room. Dustin started to follow her, and she turned around.

"Maybe it's best if you go home. I don't feel in the mood for sex anymore." Lil said glancing over at her brother's door.

Dustin sighed. "We don't have to have sex to have fun. We can just hang out; that's better than not seeing you anymore tonight."

Lil smiled and nodded. "Sure, come on," she said as she headed to her room, which happened to be right beside Phil's room. Lil really didn't want to have to hear more of the sounds, but she had no choice.

Marina was curled up against Chuckie's body as he stroked her wet, mangled hair. Languor had set in for both of them, so neither could open their eyes more than a little. Chuckie kissed Marina's forehead and leaned his forehead against hers. "I love you," he whispered to her.

"I love you, too." Marina replied as she pressed her hand against Chuckie's chest. His heart was still pounding, and she smiled. She moved her head up to his face and traced down his jaw line to his chin, where he had a little bit of hair growing. Marina thought it made him look rugged and sexy. 

Chuckie rubbed Marina's left shoulder with his right hand as he brushed his lips against hers. Marina shut her eyes and lowered her head to snuggle against his chest; she was too tired to stay awake. She felt safe and loved there in Chuckie's arms, and she couldn't think of a better way to fall asleep.

Kimi laid against Phil's chest as she fought to regain a normal breathing pattern. She was a little dizzy from all that had happened, but it had felt good. She didn't regret any of it, and she was immensely glad that she and Phil had shared something so intimate and special. She smiled and reached down into the floor to retrieve her camisole. She sat up and slipped it on as Phil stared up at her. Her green eyes met his blue ones, and there was an unspoken love there. Kimi felt it in Phil's gaze; he was in love with her, and she was in love with him.

Phil pulled Kimi down to his body and held her in his arms. Kimi held onto his left hand, which was on her shoulder, as his right hand slipped into her raven hair. She looked into his eyes before brushing her lips over Phil's. His breath was warm as he let out a sigh.

"Kimi," he whispered.

"Yea," she replied.

Phil's eyes were locked onto Kimi's eyes. He brought his right hand down to brush her cheek. "I love you," he told her, meaning every word of it.

Kimi took a deep breath and felt her heart skip a beat; she'd wanted Phil to tell her those words for years. She leaned her forehead against his and said, "I love you, too."

Phil held Kimi against his body and nuzzled her neck. "God, I wish I'd known sooner," he told her.

Kimi shifted in his grip. "Nothing could have been more special than this night."

"No," he agreed, "But, we could have dated."

Kimi smiled and traced her finger around Phil's full lips. "We can date now."

Phil smiled. "That sounds very good."

Kimi glanced at Phil's alarm clock and saw it was past time for her to be home. She sighed, and Phil knew what was wrong. "You need to be getting home."

Kimi nodded. "Yea, or I'll be grounded again."

Phil stroked her hair. "Well, we can't have that, now can we?"

Kimi smiled. "No, we can't. Not after we've just started a relationship."

Phil and Kimi got up and began to redress. Kimi looked in a mirror that was hanging on Phil's wall. 'There's nothing I can do to my hair to look any better,' she thought. 'I just hope Mom and Dad don't notice.'

Phil came up behind Kimi while she was thinking, and he put his arms around her waist. She leaned back against his strong chest and put her hand on his cheek; his skin was very warm. She smiled and waited in his arms until he let go and took her by the hand.

Kimi followed Phil out of his bedroom and down the stairs to the living room. Then, Phil unlocked the door and opened it for Kimi. She stepped through, and Phil locked the door then checked his pockets to be sure he had his keys; he did. Then, he shut the door and took Kimi's hand in his own. To Phil, it felt perfect to hold Kimi's hand, and he didn't want to have to take her home. Then, his perfect night would officially be over, and he hated to have that happen. But, the world wouldn't stop for him, and he knew that; it just felt good for him to wish it was possible.

Lil heard Phil leave his bedroom and go outside, so she and Dustin rushed to the window. Lil pulled her blinds back a little and peered down at the driveway. Dustin was right beside her, and they both were causing the window glass to fog up a little bit. Lil wiped the fog away so she could see who his brother was standing with at his truck. When she saw Kimi, she gasped, "Kimi," she said in disbelief after considering what she'd heard going on in her brother's room. She just couldn't imagine that Kimi was the one in there earlier.

Phil took Kimi over to his driver side door, and he held both of her hands. He lifted his arms up, and it raised her arms as well. Then, Phil gently ran his fingertips along the skin of Kimi's arms. Kimi took a deep breath and against Phil, and she could feel his strong muscular body underneath his t-shirt. "I couldn't have imagined being with anyone else tonight," she whispered in Phil's ear.

Phil held Kimi against him and nuzzled her cheek. "I know I'd have never been with anyone else but you," he admitted.

Phil finally let Kimi go, and he immediately missed not having her in his arms. He opened his truck door, and Kimi climbed in and over to the passenger side. She was grinning as Phil pulled himself into the truck. "What," he asked her.

Kimi grinned wider. "I just wonder how I never really caught on how much you really liked me, even though it was there for so long."

"I was subtle about it." Phil replied.

Kimi thought back. "No," she said, "You weren't."

"Okay, I wasn't. But, you know I love you now. That's all that matters."

"You don't know how long I've wanted you to love me," she admitted with Phil turning to look at her. Kimi nodded and continued, "I've even printed off pictures from your website just so I could look at you all the time. Some of those were so sexy, Phil. I thought I was going to lose my mind if I didn't tell you how I felt."

Phil was quiet as he started up his truck. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Kimi blushed. "I was afraid you didn't feel the same, and then everything would have been awkward."

Phil slide over in the seat to be closer to Kimi. He kissed her lips then pulled away, and he grinned as he took the truck out of park. "So, you thought those pictures were sexy," he mused.

Kimi rolled her eyes. "You're not vain, are you," she asked sarcastically.

He grinned. "No, I just need to know how to look for you."

Kimi grinned evilly at the thought of Phil in the tight gray t-shirt and worn brown pants. "A gray shirt and rugged brown pants are a good start."

Phil glanced over at her with wide-eyes. "Dude, that was a dare. I figured no one would like that one."

"Oh, I more than liked it." Kimi replied squeezing her hand upon her knee. "Much more.

Phil glanced over at her and grinned. "Next time you come over, I'll wear that."

"You won't be wearing it very long." Kimi told him.

Phil laughed. "I think I like the sound of that." Kimi looked over at Phil, and they both burst into laughter.

Lil still stood at her window long after her brother had pulled his truck out of the driveway. "I don't believe this."

"Wasn't that the girl that was over here the other--"

"Yea, that was Kimi." Lil said as she flopped down on her bed. "I can't believe how _stupid_ Phil is. He could ruin our whole friendship with her if he screws up," she shouted out of anger.

Dustin sat down and rubbed her shoulders. "Don't let him bother you. There's no need to get worked up."

Lil sighed. "You're right. I'll discuss it with Phil when he gets back."

Dustin's hands moved over a tense spot in Lil's muscles, and she let out a gasp. "Ooh, right there," she told him. His hands massaged the tight muscles, and Lil felt very relaxed for having just heard her brother and best friend making love in the room right besides hers.


	13. Worst Case Scenario

A/N: Thanks to XxXCocoaPuffXxX and TheWraith4 for the reviews. Don't worry Cocoapuff, I'm not putting any of the others from the gang together; just Kimi and Phil. And TheWraith, I'm flattered by your review. You're a good writer, and I've read a little on One Day--I haven't had much time to do anything but write up stories and post them. But, I have read chapter one and most of chapter two. It's a good tale, and first person stories are a bit difficult for me. It's amazing to see how well you handle them. Anyway, I have a new twist to the story. This chapter isn't my best work since I am rushed after writing a paper, but I just couldn't leave the story hanging when I have soo much to introduce to the readers in this chapter.

Chapter 13

Chuckie had stayed at Marina's all weekend until Monday morning. Marina woke up and headed to the bathroom for a shower. She left Chuckie asleep in her bed, and she walked into the bathroom half-asleep. She turned the hot water on and stood up as the shower sprayed out steamy water.

Marina slipped off her pajama spaghetti strap top and shorts. She stepped into the shower and began to savor the hot water that flowed down her skin. She started to reach for her shampoo when she felt something brush against her shoulder. She spun around and was staring over at Chuckie. She exhaled loudly. "You scared the hell out of me," she told him.

Chuckie brushed his hand against her wet cheek. "I'm sorry."

Marina closed her eyes as Chuckie leaned down and pressed his mouth against hers. His tongue entered her mouth, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Because of the water, her arms slipped a little. But, Marina didn't bother with it; she was too concerned with Chuckie's kisses. Before she even knew it, she was laying down in the bottom of the shower while making-out with Chuckie as water cascaded down their backs.

At school, Kimi was at her locker grabbing her books for Advanced Biology when Phil leaned up against the locker next to hers. He had the same class she did, and they were partners. So, Phil never brought his books, and Kimi wasn't one hundred percent sure that Phil even had books since all he brought to class was a notebook and a pencil. "Hey, chick," he said smiling.

Kimi looked up at him and smiled. "Hey Phil. Are we going to walk to class?"

Phil looked down at the ground. "Lil heard us and saw us walk out of my house Friday," he said quietly.

Kimi sighed and covered her eyes with her right hand. "She didn't," she said, embarrassed in knowing that Lil had been home that night.

"She did, and she bitched at me when I got home for sleeping with you." Phil said quietly. Kimi saw evident pain in his expression; the normal jokester wasn't present in his face at all. He continued, "She thinks that if I screw something up, she'll lose you as a friend because you won't want to come around with me nearby." He took a deep breath. "So, if you don't want to date anymore, I understand. See you in class," his voice was nearly inaudible by the time he reached the end of the sentence.

Kimi thought for a moment and couldn't understand what Lil's problem was. She watched Phil blend into the crowded school corridor, and she knew that there was no way she wasn't going to date him. 'I've waited too damn long for this,' she thought as she went running into the crowd after Phil.

Phil was halfway to the classroom when Kimi reached his side. She laced her fingers in with his, and he turned to see who was next to him. He saw Kimi and broke into a smile. "Kimi."

"I don't care what Lil says." Kimi told him. "I want to be with you, and you won't screw it up."

Phil smiled and held Kimi's hand tight. He grinned. "If PDA wasn't an offense on school grounds, I'd kiss you so hard right now," he told her.

Kimi laughed. "I know you would," she replied as they walked into the classroom.

-----------

A week later, school was painfully the same as the week before except for the assembly being held during first hour. All the students were being rounded up in the gym, and Chuckie was looking around for Marina. He finally caught one of her friends and asked where she was. The friend had told him that she was at home because she didn't feel like coming in that day.

So, Chuckie signed himself out of school and left the grounds to go see Marina. He found it very odd for her to just not come in, and he wanted to know what would make her so unhappy that she wouldn't go to school. He wasted absolutely no time in getting to Marina's large home.

Marina was sitting outside on the steps when Chuckie pulled in the driveway. She watched him get out of his truck and run up the driveway to get to her. She would have cried if she had any tears left to cry, but she had run out of tears over the past two hours. Seeing Chuckie just made the aching pain inside of Marina's heart worse; she didn't want to hurt Chuckie.

Chuckie reached the stairs to the house, and he stopped in front of Marina. He saw her tearstained face and asked, "What's wrong?"

Marina stood up and motioned Chuckie to come inside; he followed obediently as Marina led him into the living room. She stopped and sniffed as she wiped away the mascara that had run down from her eyes. Chuckie stared at her and knew something big had happened, and he began to run through a list of worse case scenarios in his head. 'What if she's moving,' he thought, 'Or, what if her parents want her with them. Or, what if she's been moved to a private school?'

Marina walked over to the staircase and leaned against the banister. "Chuckie, I hape something to tell you," she said with a scratchy voice.

Chuckie stepped closer to her. "What," he asked quietly.

Marina felt fresh tears rise, and they slid out of her eyes as she spoke the words. "Chuckie, I'm pregnant."

Out of all the scenarios his head had come up with, Marina being pregnant had not crossed his mind. But after the words came out of her mouth, Chuckie knew they weren't wrong. They hadn't been practicing safe sex, even though they were both smart enough to have known to do so. He stepped back from Marina just to be able to breathe; his lungs seemed to not be functioning right. He ran his right hand through his hair as his brain desperately tried to grasp the situation.

Marina was sobbing as she told him, "I just had the maid bring the tests in just for the safe side since I was late. It took all five of them to be positive before my brain let it sink in."

Chuckie's mouth was really dry as his brain finally reviewed the facts. "Oh God, we're just seventeen," he blurted with no way to stop it.

Marina started to cry harder, and Chuckie snapped out of the dazed feeling he was in. He stepped up to Marina and took her in his arms. He stroked her back as she cried on his shoulder. "God, I'm so sorry," she cried.

"No," Chuckie told her, "Don't be sorry. We're both responsible, so please don't be blaming yourself."

"You were so much better off without me." Marina told him.

Chuckie held her tighter. "No, no I wasn't. This will be all right, Marina. We'll figure it out."

Marina couldn't stop crying and couldn't comprehend why Chuckie was being so understanding about the whole situation. 'I've ruined his life,' she thought. 'Any other guy I know would have just dumped me and wished me luck. Why does he have to be so understanding? It just makes it worse that I've trashed his future.'

Chuckie held Marina in his arms for a long time, and he knew that even assemblies at their school wouldn't last long enough for him to make the situation stable and get back to school before second hour began. But, his brain wasn't concerned with missing classes; it was concerned with the embryo forming inside of Marina's uterus. Deep down, Chuckie was calm and sure that they would be fine. But on the outside, he was absolutely terrified.

Marina's tears ebbed, and she clung to Chuckie. She knew it was getting late, and Chuckie would be late for classes. "You should get back to school. I'll be all right for the rest of today."

"I shouldn't leave you here alone today," he told her as he rubbed her back in a circular motion.

"I can't let you miss an entire day of school. So, go back for the rest of the day." Marina said as she pulled away from Chuckie's embrace.

Chuckie placed his hands upon Marina's wet cheeks. "There's no way I can concentrate today."

Marina grabbed a hold of his wrists. "I'm not asking you to concentrate," she whispered. 

Marina let go of Chuckie's wrists, and he dropped his left hand down and set it against Marina's lower abdomen. She put her hand over her nose and mouth to muffle her cries, and she ran around and up the steps.

"Marina." Chuckie called up to her. 

Marina turned around and looked him into his gentle brown eyes. "Please, just go back to school, Chuckie. I need to be alone for a little while."

Chuckie started to argue but gave up. He watched Marina ascend the steps, then he began to walk towards the front door. His mind was far from where he was, and he seemed to be losing the grasp he had on the situation. Fear was eating away at the secure feeling he had deep down inside, and Chuckie was afraid. 'Think positive,' he thought, 'Just think positive, and don't let anyone know about this. It's still too early for that. When Marina's ready to talk some more, discuss it then.' Shakily, Chuckie climbed into his truck and headed back towards school with the reality that he would be a daddy in nine months hanging over his head. It was more pressure than he'd ever felt in his life, and he didn't know exactly what to do or if everything would turn out all right. Chuckie was truly scared.


	14. Life Happens

A/N: Sorry I haven't written in sooo long. And Skittles, I definitely WON'T have Marina get an abortion in the story. NEVER, NO WAY. But, I thank all of you who reviewed the story. Here is some more.

Chapter 14

Chuckie made his way back to school, and he kept his cool until lunch. Then, he pulled his sister aside to talk. Kimi struggled until she saw that Chuckie was the one who had a hold of her. "What do you want?" Kimi asked as she rubbed her arm where he had pulled her.

"Kimi, I have something… big to tell you." Chuckie said glancing around like crazy.

Kim glanced around then whispered, "What?"

Chuckie whimpered then leaned down. He whispered, "Marina's, well. She's umm, pregnant."

"What?" Kimi shouted.

Chuckie put his had over Kimi's mouth and shushed her. "Shh! I don't want everyone to know about it, Kim."

Kimi pushed her brother's hand away from her mouth and said, "Everyone's going to find out soon enough. It's not like Marina can just hide it; eventually, she'll show."

Chuckie nodded. "I know, but no one else can know about this. I didn't ask if Marina wanted it told."

Kimi just stared blankly at her brother; her mind couldn't even grasp the idea that she was going to be an aunt, and it definitely couldn't grasp the reality that her seventeen-year-old brother was going to be a father. It all made Kimi's head spin. "What are you going to do?"

"Marry her." Chuckie said with wide-eyes.

Kimi was speechless for a moment. "We have to tell our friends."

"I don't know if they like me anymore. You were there when they attacked me."

Kimi grabbed Chuckie's shoulders. "They're still your friends, Chuckie. They'll be here for you because they have been so many other times. You were the one who walked away."

"Tommy said if I walked away I couldn't come back, Kim." Chuckie sighed.

"He will take it back if you come to the table looking like hell, which you do." Kimi noted.

"Gee, thanks, sis. I just heard the biggest life-altering news of my life, and you make fun of me."

Kimi put her hands up. "Chill, Chuckie. Just come to lunch."

"I'm not hungry," he mumbled.

"Then just come and sit. Tell our friends what's wrong."

Chuckie nodded. "All right."

Chuckie told his friends about his child, and they were supportive of him. He was relieved that they didn't rag him on how irresponsible he had been. That was one thing that Chuckie didn't need in his frazzled state of mind. He had enough on his mind without adding guilt to the list.

Within a few weeks, Marina was acting like nothing was wrong. But, she tended to feel a little sick before school, and she started eating more at lunch. Before long, her friends had figured out what was happening to her. They disapproved of the fact that she was pregnant, but they really disapproved the fact that her baby's father was Chuckie, a nerd. They were horrified that they called themselves her friend. So, they did something despicable.

Marina's "friends" began spreading around the word that Marina was pregnant. Before the day was over, the whole school was buzzing with the gossip. Marina and Chuckie walked through the halls quickly and tried to avoid everyone. But, it had become difficult because every student in the hallway asked questions like the paparazzi after celebrities. Chuckie and Marina ignored everyone except Chuckie's friends. They crowded around the couple and acted as a shield from the nervy crowd.

By the end of the day, Chuckie was called to the office. The administration had heard the news about Marina, and they wanted to speak with him. They called his parents to let them know what turn their son's life had taken. They sat as a team behind the principal's desk when Chuckie came in.

Chuckie was ushered into the chair in front of the desk, and he knew what was going on. "There are rumors going around, Mr. Finster." The principal stated with his hands folded upon his desk.

"I know." Chuckie replied.

"We have called you in here to set them to rest."

Chuckie's tone grew very soft. "That is hard to do when the rumors happen to be true."

The teacher's gasped quietly, and the principal nodded. "That is what I figured. When it comes to rumors like these, more often than not, they are the truth."

Chuckie didn't look the administration. "What is it that you need?"

"That is all for right now, but we will call you in here again. So, be prepared for another meeting."

"I will." Chuckie replied as he stood up and was given permission to leave.

At home, Chuckie had reached the depths of his hell as his father dug right into him when he got in. For over an hour, Chuckie and his father fought a sudden-death battle with no prevail. Chuckie didn't have to work, so he wasn't in any hurry to leave. Besides, he wanted his father to see his side of things, and not the side of the administration, who tended to stretch truths.

Kimi locked herself in her room and tried to ignore the yelling from downstairs, but even her stereo could not keep the screams from reaching her ears. She stayed huddled on her bed listening to the fight. After the sun set, and it was dark, Kimi heard her father ground Chuckie. She heard Chuckie reply, "Well, I don't give a damn," followed by the slam of the front door.

Kimi jumped up and ran to her window to see Chuckie's truck speed out of the driveway and head away from the house. She stumbled back from the window feeling woozy from all that was happening; too much, too fast. She didn't like seeing her brother so angry, and she headed towards her door.

Right as Kimi neared her door, it opened. Kimi jumped back in fright to see her mother at the door. She exhaled and said, "MOM, you scared me!"

"Kimi, you seem a little distant. Is it because of Chuckie's life?"

"No, Mom." Kimi replied. She'd been acting differently because she was having a physical relationship with Phil. "It's not that at all."

"Then, what?"

Kimi sighed. She knew it had to be asked, and her parents were all ready steamed up, so Kimi went for it. "I need a gynecology appointment."

Kimi's mother scrunched up her face. "No," she said firmly. "You don't need one."

"Then, when will I need one?"

"Right before you get married. When you are, you know, ready to have…"

"Sex." Kimi finished the sentence.

"Yes," her mother replied going red in the face from embarrassment.

Kim took a deep breath and thought, 'What the hell, it won't hurt now.' "I've all ready had it."

Kimi watched fire spark up in her mother's eyes as she yelled, "What? Who was it; do I know him?"

Kimi shook her head because she wasn't about to say yes. She sure as hell wasn't going to admit it was Phil. "No," she said meekly.

"It's someone from that school though, isn't it?" Kimi nodded to her mother's question.

Kimi's mother pointed her finger in Kimi's face, which made Kimi angry. "There's all ready one grandchild on the way, and there will not be another one. Do you hear me?"

"That's is why I need an appointment." Kimi spat.

Kimi's mother bit her lips so hard it nearly bled. "No, you're grounded until you leave for college."

"What, that's stupid!"

"If it's what I have to do to keep you from sleeping around, then that's what I'll do."

"You don't even get it!" Kimi screamed. "You aren't listening to me!"

"Oh, I am listening, Kimi, and I'm not happy. I'm sure that Chaz won't be happy either. I hate to have to disturb him with this."

Kimi's mother left, and Kimi screamed as soon as she was gone. She waited until she heard her mother close the door to their room that she ran over to the telephone on her nightstand. She dialed up Phil's number and waited for him to pick up. "Hello," he answered.

"Phil, come get me out of this damn house."

"What's--"

"I'll explain later, just come pick me up a little ways before my house. I don't need anyone seeing me leave in a truck."

"All right." Phil said reluctantly. He didn't want Kimi in trouble, but she was insisting on leaving. So, he agreed to go pick her up.


	15. So Much Falls Apart in a Day

A/N: I'm REALLY sorry for not writing until now, but I've had a few family problems the past few weeks, and it just put me off on doing much of anything but listening to my Goth Rock or any music with really loud drums and guitar. But, I give you my next chapter, and I hope I can reclaim the interest of my reviewers b/c you all were great. I just fear that this chapter will be a little bit blah.

Chapter 15

Phil picked Kimi up at the end of the street, and he could tell by the look on her face that she was thoroughly angry. "Kim, are you sure you want to leave?"

Kimi flashed Phil a glare, and Phil said no more. He understood that she was angry at more than her mother; she was angry with everything, and he didn't want to feel her wrath. So, he watched Kimi climb into his truck and shut the door. She pulled the seatbelt and latched it as he put the truck in drive. He kept a close watch on Kimi in the corner of his eye.

After a few minutes of stressful silence, Phil cleared his throat. "Do you mind telling me what happened now?"

Kimi sighed and sank down into the seat. "I told my mom I needed a gynecology appointment, and she freaked out. She told me that I didn't need one until I was about to be married and was about to have sex. So, I was so made that I let it slip that I've had sex, and she grounded me 'until I leave for college.'"

Phil blurted out, "What? That's crazy!"

"She said if it was the only way to keep me from 'sleeping around' then that was what she was going to do." Kimi looked over at Phil and saw the anger lines for in his skin because he had lowered his eyebrows.

"What about prom?" Phil asked glancing over at Kimi.

Kimi opened her mouth to speak but found no words come out of her mouth. She hadn't thought about prom, and she hoped that her mother would allow her to go to her Senior Prom, the last prom she'd ever have. "I didn't stick around to ask about prom. She can't not let me go to prom." Kimi's voice had a hint of panic within it.

Phil glanced over at her with a questionable look. "She may not let you go since most seniors leave prom and go somewhere to have sex."

Kimi slouched further in the seat and stared out the windshield. Suddenly, she couldn't grasp any part of her life; her life was just a big whirlpool and everything she had known was now being sucked down to the bottom away from her. First, Chuckie had just ignored her and their friends, then he stared sleeping with Marina. Now, she was dating Phil and was grounded for having sex with him. She also faced certain objection from her mother when it came to going to prom.

Phil heard Kimi sniff, and he turned to see tears slipping out of her eyes. He reached over, while making sure he had the steering wheel in his hand and had his eyes on the road, and stroked Kimi's hair. "Kim, don't cry. Everything will work out."

"Why did life decide that today it was going to fail so horribly?" Kimi asked unable to stop the tears that burned down her cheeks.

Shortly, Phil arrived back at his house. He pulled in the driveway and shut his truck off. Then, he sat silent watching Kimi cry in her hands but didn't let that go on for long. He scooted over and pulled her into his arms, where she began sobbing on his chest. He stroked her hair and whispered to her, "It's okay, just let it out. I'm here for you."

Kimi couldn't speak as hard as she was crying, which surprised her that she just broke down without warning, but she appreciated Phil's sensitivity. She did enjoy his warm embrace, and being in his arms helped calm her down because her troubles didn't seem as bad while she was being held and loved. Slowly, the tears ceased and she just closed her eyes and relaxed.

Phil kissed her forehead, and Kimi looked up at him. She knew her eyes had to look horrible, but Phil didn't cringe from the sight of them. Kimi knew he'd never know how much that meant to her at that point, but she didn't even know why her feelings had become so very fragile. "Are you ready to go inside?" Phil asked and Kimi nodded.

Phil got out and walked around the nose of his truck to get to the passenger side. He opened Kimi's door and held out his hand to her. Of course, she didn't need his hand to get down from the truck because she was tall enough to get out. But, he wasn't implying that she needed his hand; it was another way to show that he was there for her. Kimi accepted his hand and let Phil lead her out of the truck and into the house. His arms were around her as they walked, and she smiled up at him.

"I love you, Phil." Kimi told him.

Phil pulled her tighter against him and whispered in her ear, "I love you too."

Inside the house, Phil and Kimi sat down on the couch and began to watch television. Phil's eyes widened and he hopped in front of the television to block the screen as he realized what he'd left on before he'd left to get Kimi. He'd had the Cartoon Network on, and he didn't want Kimi to know he watched it. But, he saw her staring at him strangely as he leaned up against the television screen. "What are you doing," she asked.

"Nothing." Phil said as he held the changer in his hand and tried to find the channel changing button. He was sure he found it and pressed it, but he soon found out he'd had the volume button. His face grew exceedingly red as the sounds from Teen Titans came over the speakers.

Phil sighed and said, "I was watching Cartoon Network before you called."

Kimi just stared at him and waited for him to continue what he was saying, but he didn't. "So," she said.

"You don't think it's childish." Phil stated.

Kimi leaned back against the couch. "I've seen more childish things than people watching cartoons, Phil. Just look around at school. All the preps fighting over every minute thing, that's childish. We're the senior high, when will they realized that?"

Feeling more secure that Kimi accepted he watched cartoons now and again, Phil walked away from the screen and sat down next to Kimi. He saw her sit up straight and point to the screen as she said, "LOOK, Robin!"

Phil laughed and nodded. "Yeah," he replied.

"What? I think that's cool." Kimi said.

Phil reached down under the sofa and took out a sketch pad. He flipped through a few pages, with Kimi watching his every move, and turned the sketch pad around for her to see. There on the page was an anime-style drawing of her.

"That's amazing!" Kimi said as she examined the drawing. "I love it! When did you draw it?"

"Today, not long before you called. I was thinking about you and didn't know if there was a family feud going on at your house because of Chuckie's big news, so I didn't call to talk with you. So, I channeled all my thoughts about you into a drawing."

Kimi smiled and put her hands on top of the sketch pad. She lowered and leaned over it to softly kiss Phil's lips. She slipped the sketch pad out of Phil's hands and tossed it aside. The sketch pad landed on the remote control and changed it to one of the numerous movie channels. The movie Erin Brockovich was on, but neither Kimi or Phil took notice of it. They were too wrapped up in kissing to pay attention to anything else.

Kimi felt Phil's hands slide up her back and into her ebony hair. She softly bit at Phil's bottom lip and leaned down against him. Phil leaned back against the arm of the couch, and Kimi laid down onto top of him. He ran his hands down along Kimi's arms and laced his finger with hers.

Kimi and Phil were really enjoying themselves when the ringing of telephone interrupted the moment. Both jumped up out of surprise and stared over the phone. Phil got up to answer it, but Kimi grabbed his wrist with both hands. "No, it might be my mom realizing that I left and calling to see if I'm here."

"If it is, I'll lie." Phil assured her. "But, I should check it in case it's my parents or Lil or someone."

Kimi nodded and released Phil's right wrist from her death drip. She sat silently on the couch, with her heart beating madly in suspense of who was calling, as she watched Phil picked the cordless phone up off of it's base. He stared at it to see what the caller-Id said, and he picked it up.

The Caller-ID had displayed Dil's cell phone, so Phil answered the incoming call. "Hello," he answered.

"Phil," Dil's voice came over the phone, but it sounded hoarse, strained, and breathy.

"Dil, is something wrong?" Phil asked as his brain immediately picked up warning signals from Dil's voice.

"Phil, I….I've been…in….in…an accident." Dil replied.


	16. The Night From Hell

****

A/N: REALLY sorry for the delay. I just haven't gotten the urge to write because the creativity for my stories doesn't come well w/ personal issues I've been having. I've been drawing dolls and posting them up on my website. If you have any curiosity on this matter you can visit my website: ** Thanks for those of you who are reading this.**

Chapter 16

Phil and Kimi raced out to Phil's truck and hopped inside with little thought and no exchanged words. Phil slid the keys into the truck's ignition and started it up. As he pulled out of his driveway, he pulled out his cell phone. He turned the phone on and began to dial a number, but he kept fumbling.

Kimi watched Phil start over and over again on dialing the number, and she watched him clear all the numbers he'd typed in. He did manage to dial 911, and he began talking to the operator in a rush.

"9-1-1, can I help you?"

"Yes, my friend has been in an accident. I'm not sure of his exact location, but I believe he will be near the outskirts of the city. Please, could you go and see if he's near there?"

Kimi could feel her heart pounding in her chest; never would she have believed that the day could have gotten worse than it all ready had been. First, Chuckie left the house in a storm for Marina's, then her mother had grounded her for longer than needed; now Dil was hurt from a car accident.

Kimi came back to and saw that Phil was struggling with his cell phone again. He pushed a few buttons in then paused put another button in then had to erase it. He did this all while he was driving way too fast. Kimi looked up at Phil's eyes and was about to speak to him when he spoke first.

"Dammit! What the hell is Tommy's phone number?" Phil shouted frantically.

Kimi took a hold of Phil's hand and pried the cell phone away. "I'll call," she said in a hushed, fearful tone.

Phil and Kimi drove around the outskirts of the city until they found the scene of the accident. The ambulance was all ready at the scene, and Tommy's little red Pontiac Sunfire was there as well. Phil and Kimi's gaze was fixed on the black Sunfire overturned on the side of the road, with glass scattered all around it. Phil began to tremble and muttered, "Dil." Dil was a very good friend of Phil's, they hung out as often as possible and had a great time. It was almost too much for Phil to take seeing Dil's car on it's roof and badly damaged.

Kimi was as horrified by what she saw as Phil, and she tightened her grip onto Phil's arm and trembled along with him. Her eyes were glued to the smashed car, and she felt very faint the more time passed. The sirens of the ambulance didn't help the dizziness, but the sound of a familiar voice tore Kimi out of the swirling surroundings.

Kimi and Phil turned to see Tommy, white as a sheet, standing next to them with Rachel at his side. "Tommy," Phil breathed with sadness in his voice.

"He's hurt pretty bad," was all Tommy said.

There wasn't much to be said in such a time, so no one spoke as the ambulanced began to head away from the scene. Phil and Kimi returned to Phil's truck, and Rachel walked Tommy to the passenger side of his car--he was in no condition to drive with such rattled nerves.

The two vehicles followed the ambulance to the hospital, where Dil was quickly taken back to the E.R. Tommy sank down into the waiting room seats, and the rest followed suit. Rachel hugged Tommy and stroked his back. Phil and Kimi sat in close proximity but did not touch. Neither were in a normal state of mind and could not come back out of their thoughts. Phil was thinking of the worst-case-scenario and was almost positive that they'd lost Dil. The thought really nagged at him and knotted his insides up, and he was trembling worse than before.

Kimi was lost in thought and didn't know how much more she could possibly take. Her life was spiraling down on its own, and she was lost in it all. She didn't want to lose Dil because it was cause a big hurt inside of her heart that could not be mended. Tears filled to the brink of her eyes and silently slipped out of her eyes, proceeding down her cheeks.

Soon, Lil and Dustin rushed into the waiting room and sat beside Tommy and Rachel. Lil spoke to Phil, who didn't respond to her, which worried her. She knew how close Phil was to Dil and knew that it was breaking him up inside to know that Dil was boarding life and death. But, she wanted to give moral support to Tommy, since Dil was his brother.

To everyone's surprise, Chuckie wandered into the waiting room. Of course, Marina was with him, but she appeared to feel out of place. Kimi glanced over to Lil to see if she called Chuckie, but she just shrugged. So, Kimi assumed Tommy called Chuckie, they were best friends after all. Chuckie walked right past his sister and knelt down in front of his best friend.

Marina walked over to the lot of them, but stood shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Kimi motioned for her to sit down beside her. There was not resentment left on such a night, and she was almost happy to see her brother there. Kimi knew on the inside that she really didn't resent Marina, but she felt that she was losing her brother to a new life. Yet seeing Chuckie there at a time of need, Kimi began to realize that Chuckie would always be there.

Marina sat down but said nothing. She stared down at her feet and sighed. "I'm sorry for what has happened. Tonight has been rough for all of you." Marina said quietly. "And, I know that I haven't made your life easy, Kimi. I'm sorry for what's happened."

"No apology is needed." Kimi said quietly. "He doesn't feel remorse for anything, so I shouldn't hold harsh feelings towards you. Chuckie was always half of what happened."

It was late in the night, and all the parents were there: Pickles, DeVilles, and Finsters. It was a rough night without word of Dil's condition. So much tension was doing more harm than any of the information on the surgery would. Phil still hadn't spoken to anyone, Tommy was still white as a sheet, and Deedee was sobbing in Stu's arms in the midst of the other parents.

By three-in-the-morning, the Pickles were allowed in to see Dil, who'd made it through surgery to fix a broken arm and a few broken ribs. The waiting room had let out a relieved sigh when they heard that he was alive and doing well. Phil sunk down in his seat, and Kimi stroked his hair. He finally opened his eyes and gave her a weak smile. "I was afraid of the worst," he admitted.

Kimi leaned down and kissed his forehead, she was afraid to do more with the parents there, and replied, "I think we were all fearing the worst."

"This night…"he started.

"Has been the night from Hell." Kimi replied leaning her head against Phil's.

"Yes." Phil agreed.


	17. Halloween Brawl

A/N: Yes, I haven't posted in ages. I won't make any excuses this time; I was just lazy if you really get down to it. I've had this typed for some time, but was too lazy to finish the end of the chapter and get it put up. Then, I just didn't have the right mindset to want to work on this and got interested in several new stories-one I'm working on for a live journal writing challenge. So, this was pushed to the back burner. I can't believe I let this go for a month-which is about how long this has been typed up. Anyway, please enjoy this installment of my story-I pray that you haven't forgotten what's happened, even tho I fear I have done so a tad bit. Very very sorry for my delay.

Chapter 17

After a few weeks, the only thing left of the car wreck-that they learned was caused by a drunk driver who'd fallen asleep at the wheel-was a sulking Dil with a broken arm. He feared he wouldn't be healed in time for the Junior/Senior prom. That upset him more than the thought of his wrecked car because he could always work more and save enough for another car but would never be able to go to a prom with his old friends and brother.

Life was practically normal since the accident. The whispers about Marina even subsided since a new girl had found herself pregnant. The students all felt that a pregnant sophomore cheerleader was much more interesting than a happy pregnant girl who had willingly taken a social suicide. Marina liked Chuckie's friends more than she'd ever liked her own.

Marina had invited the gang to her house for a weekend, and it was free-for-all. They'd ate junk food until midnight and told stories about the past. Because of that, the lot of them had grown closer on that weekend. Everyone then shared their feelings and thoughts just so the rest would know where they stood.

Lil and Kimi became closer friends with Marina, and Lil took them to the mall quite often and made them go into the Baby gap insisting they had to buy clothes. Marina always blushed when they were in the store, but she found it hard to leave when they were ready. After spending a while in the store, she would be ready for her baby's arrival. Her parents had not been angry with her when she called and told them the news, which hurt a lot. She'd wanted them to show some sort of emotion, but they didn't. They just told her that they had enough room and money to support her and her child. Chuckie had told her she was lucky not to be in trouble.

Chuckie still hadn't made up with his father and was living at Marina's. He'd have Kimi bring some of his things from home to school for him to take to Marina's. Kimi missed Chuckie being home, but she rarely spent time at home anymore. She visited Phil more and more as time passed. They often went to the arcade for fun, but sometimes he took her to see movies-sappy, chick flick movies mostly, which made Kimi giddy.

Kimi was at Phil's, and they were in his room watching the movie Macbeth for their English class. They were to compare the movie to the play, and neither were too enthusiastic for the assignment. Phil was nearly asleep as his head laid in Kimi's lap. Kimi was resting against Phil's pillows and was more interested into the movie after starting it. It was annoying that the special effects were so bad, but it was understandable that they couldn't be much better for a movie made in the late 1970s.

Kimi absent-mindedly stroked Phil's thick hair, and he'd tense up at her touch. She wasn't paying attention to the fact that she was turning him on, but he rolled over and told her, "Kimi, if you keep running your hands through my hair, we're going to miss the end of this movie."

"But-" she started to ask what he meant, but it was only a few seconds before she caught on that he was talking about sex. She grinned wickedly and replied sarcastically, "Oh, I'm sure Mrs. Lawson would love to hear that we missed the ending because we were too busy having sex."

Phil laughed and focused on the movie again. Kimi laid her hands on his shoulder and paid attention to the movie as well.

On Halloween, Marina hosted a masquerade party at her house and left the invitation open to whoever wanted to attend. Of course, anyone without a costume would not be allowed in to the party. Marina stood in front of her full-length and incessantly tried to smooth the front of her dress-she was dressed up like Scarlet from Gone With the Wind. She sighed each time she attempted to smooth the wrinkles out of the dress, but that wasn't what she was really stressing over.

Chuckie stood in the doorway and watched Marina for a moment, and he withheld speaking to her until she let out a heavy sigh. "It's not the wrinkles that have you stressed out," he mentioned.

"I know." Marina agreed as she stared at the mirror and put her hand to her belly. "It's just-"

"You don't look pregnant yet, Marina." Chuckie replied as he walked over to her and gave her a hug.

Marina stared at the mirror again and realized that Chuckie did look like Rhett Butler. His red hair and freckles had clashed with his outfit, so he put temporary hair dye in his hair and let Marina put make-up over his freckles. Then, he wore his contacts. "I hope everything goes well tonight."

"Are you worrying just because you're the hostess, or is it deeper than just that?"

Marina blushed. "There's nothing wrong."

"That's not a lie." Chuckie said sarcastically. "Look, if you're worried that this party has to be good to make people forget you're pregnant, that's just not going to happen."

"I know, but I don't want them to think I'm not a good hostess now because I'm pregnant. I can still host parties."

"Shh," Chuckie shushed. "It's not important what they think. I'll love you no matter what."

Marina snuggled against Chuckie. "I love you," she said hushed since her face was buried in Chuckie's shoulder.

Not long after dark, Chuckie's friends arrived. Tommy and Rachel were the first there dressed as King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. Rachel's hair wasn't red, so she had a fiery red wig on with a crown topping it-it was a smaller version of the one Tommy was wearing. It amazed Marina how authentic Tommy and Rachel dressed, and she was excited to see her whole house filled with people dressed up. Her heart was fluttering with excitement as Lil and Dustin walked in.

Lil was dressed like Cleopatra, and Dustin was dressed as Marc Antony. Lil had a large gold-colored metal headdress with pieces that looked a great deal like feathers. There were a group of the feather-like pieces that formed a oval atop the headdress. Lil also had a wig on because she didn't have hair long enough to show outside of her headdress. The wig had four large metal, that matched her headdress, pieces that clamped onto the two sides of the wig, one tress on each shoulder, every six inches down. She had a large, faux jewel necklace that appeared to be very, very heavy. Her dress was a very simple beige dress, and her feet were adorned in simple sandles. Dustin had a gold-colored metal roman helmet and armor. He also had a red cape that hung around him as well as a metal skirt-like piece.

Later, Dil and Kate-whom he met because of his injury-came in. Dil was dressed like a pirate with the frock, hat, boots that went up to mid-calf, and knickers. Kate, a natural blonde, was wearing a dress that could have been a ball gown because of its huge skirt. It was a light blue with white fabric that came out of the flowing sleeves. Her hair was curled and pulled atop her head.

Marina and Chuckie feared that Phil and Kimi were not going to arrive because they had not shown up even after the house began to fill up. Finally, Phil and Kimi arrived with a group of Goth band members. Phil and Kimi were dressed up in a Goth manner. Phil was wearing a black tank with straps and buckles that crossed over his chest and a mesh shirt underneath it. He wore baggy, black jeans with two pockets at his thigh and two nearly at his feet. There were also zippers that were sewed, slanted purposely, one above each pocket. He was carrying a black and white electric guitar on his back.

Kimi was dressed in a black dress with a corset top that pushed her breasts up, exposing a lot more than she ever had. The straps of the dress had tulle sleeves and tulle over the layered skirt. Her eyes were lined heavily in black and dark pink eye shadow adorned her eyelids while her foundation was very, very light. Kimi's boots were black leather that cut of mid-thigh and laced up to the top.

The others didn't know exactly what to think about their friends' outfits. It was a change to see their friends Goth. Overall, their outfits were approved of. Marina and Kate especially liked the outfits, but Lil sighed at the sight of her brother. Marina heard Lil mutter, "He's such a weirdo." Marina understood Lil's side of the issue; she was more Retro while her brother was Punk but bordering Goth. She bet that the two of them argued trends often when they were together.

Kimi and Phil helped the Goth guys, who were friends Phil had met at the arcade, set up their instruments and equipment. They were planning on singing at the party, which Marina had agreed to. In about ten minutes, the band began to play. Phil was on lead guitar, his friend Jack was a bass-player with brown dreadlocks-he wanted to be like the bass player for Evanescence. Tristan was the drummer and had dyed-black hair in a faux mohawk with the tips colored red. There was also Dexter who was a pianist, and he had short half-brown, half-black hair that was spiked up.

The crowds in Marina's house squeezed around to listen to Phil and his friends play a mixture of alternative rock songs. Kimi sang when they played Evanescence songs, and the many people there enjoyed the performance. There was clapping and cheering for Kimi and the band after every song. Kimi was hesitant at first for singing in front of basically the whole school, but she found it was a lot more fun that she had imagined.

A little while later, Phil and Kimi sneaked away and locked themselves in a fairly small nearly empty room. There, the two of them began to kiss and feel each other up. Neither of them pushed it further than that because so many people were around. It wasn't very long, about fifteen minutes before Phil and Kimi departed from the solitude of the room to find a commotion was stirring.

Phil and Kimi raced back where everyone else was to find Sonny swing a punch at Chuckie. Both of them cringed as Chuckie was knocked backwards and onto the ground. Before anyone could react, Chuckie was up off of the ground and decked Sonny right in the jaw. Sonny fell back and put his hand up to his cheek. "Is that the best you've got?"

Sonny jumped Chuckie and pinned his on the ground as he punched him over and over. That was when Phil, Tommy, and Dil jumped into the fight-of course Dil was limited in helping due to his hurt arm. It took all three to pry the lunatic off of their friend, but they succeeded. Phil was the one who shoved Sonny away as Tommy and Dil moved in front of Chuckie, who was slowly starting to sit up.

"What the hell's your problem?" Phil shouted.

Sonny pointed to Chuckie. "That son-of-a-bitch got my girlfriend pregnant."

"EX-girlfriend, Sonny. Your…EX!" Marina shouted. "Now, get the hell out of my house."

"FINE!" Sonny screamed as he exited the party. "But, you've made a mistake, Marina. You made a mistake by ever letting him touch you; and when you realize that, I won't be there to take you back."

"YOU WON'T NEED TO YOU ASSHOLE!" Marina screamed back. "It's not like you were ever there when you had my attention!"

The last anyone saw of Sonny that night was his back as he left. For a moment after his departure, there was an awkward silence. But people soon reemerged in their conversations, and they decided to leave their two-cents out of the situation.

Phil and Tommy helped Chuckie to his feet. "Are you gonna be all right?" Tommy asked.

Chuckie, two drying streams of blood coming from his nose, simply nodded. "I'll be fine," he said meekly.

"He fought like a coward." Phil remarked. "He had to pin you to get a good hit on you after he saw what you were capable of.

"Thanks, but I don't really want to talk about this now." Chuckie mumbled as he tried to maintain. "I'm not that fine."

"We could end the party." Marina suggested.

"No, you let the party go on. Everyone's having a great time. I'll just go lay down." Chuckie told her. So, Tommy and Phil helped Chuckie up to Marina's bedroom, where he laid down and almost instantaneously fell asleep.

"Poor guy." Phil said hushed as they left. "It's not like he had things smoothed out in his life, and now he got beat up."

"That Sonny is an asshole." Tommy replied. "He's just jealous because Marina moved on. He's one of those guys who treats his girl like shit then believes she'll just keep coming back for more. Damn, I should have laid into him."

"Yeah, me too." Phil replied. "Showed him what he gets for playing dirty."

Tommy and Phil were quiet until they reached the stairs leading back down to the party. "Funny how just a short time ago, I figured we'd lost Chuckie as a friend for good."

"Yeah, I know. Everything's changed so much. It's bogging Kimi down real bad." Phil added.

"It's still weird that the two of you are together… and having sex for that matter. It's just really weird since we've known her forever." Tommy replied feeling a little odd mentioning it.

"Well, that gave me a great basis to move on." Phil laughed.

"Lil doesn't give you credit. You still have your sense of humor." Tommy said.

Phil nodded. "She just chooses not to see it. But, I have been pretty dark lately, exhaustion mostly. I mean tests all the time, then I hang out with Kimi most nights-and thank God she's not grounded so severely anymore-then I work on my webpage. I just don't seem to have time for myself anymore, not that I'm complaining."

"Maybe you should." Tommy told Phil as they headed back to the party. "Maybe you should complain and take some much needed alone time. We'd all understand."

"I just like being with Kimi, though. It's weird when she's not around."

Tommy snickered. "Man, we've lost you. You really love her, and your world has adjusted itself to fit her into your daily life. Face it, dude, you're gonna end up with her."

Phil and Tommy reached the bottom of the stairs, and Phil stared hard at Kimi. "I really hope so," he replied to Tommy's comment.


End file.
